This announced inspection took place on 27 November 2017. This was the first inspection since the service registered.

This service is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults. At the time of our visit there were five people using the service from several London boroughs.

On the day of our visit, there was a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they felt safe. Staff demonstrated working knowledge of the safeguarding processes and how to raise a concern. There were appropriate policies and systems in place including staff attending safeguarding training in order to ensure people were protected from harm.

Medicines were managed safely by staff that had been assessed as competent. Staff demonstrated an understanding of the infection control principles and guidelines in place to prevent the spread of infection.

We saw an effective risk management and accident management process in place that ensured staff learnt from past incidents in order to improve practice.

People told us they were treated with dignity and respect by staff that were polite and kind. They thought they were enough staff to meet their needs. They were aware of the complaints process and felt that any concerns raised would be taken seriously and resolved.

There were robust recruitment practices in place which ensured only staff that were suitable to work in a health and social care environment were employed. Staff were supported to develop their skills and knowledge by means of regular training, a comprehensive induction, regular supervision and staff meetings. They were aware of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how they applied it in practice.

Care plans were person scented and outlined people’s personal preferences and wishes. They were renewed regularly together with people and those that mattered to them.

People were supported to maintain a balanced diet that met their needs. They were enabled to access healthcare services in order to maintain their health.

People and their relatives thought the service was well managed. There were effective quality assurance systems in place to ensure the quality of care delivered was monitored and improved.