S & S Home Care Limited provides a range of services to people living in the community including, housekeeping, shopping and personal care from office premises in Keighley. The agency provides care and support services to people who are elderly, have dementia or whose health is in some way impaired. At the time of inspection the agency was providing care and support to 23 people and employed 8 staff.

We started the inspection of S & S Home Care Limited on the 27 February 2017 and finished the inspection on 14 March 2017. We announced the inspection 48 hours prior to our arrival to make sure the registered manager would be available.

At the time of inspection there was a registered manager in post. 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 using S and S Home care Limited. We saw staff had received training in safeguarding adults and were aware of the correct action to take if they witnessed or suspected any abuse. Staff were aware of the whistleblowing policy (reporting poor practice) in place and told us they were certain any concerns they raised would be taken seriously by the registered manager.

Care records contained assessments that had been completed before people started to use the service. They were detailed and showed what support the person required and how the service planned to provide it. The assessment process ensured staff could meet people’s needs and the information provided was used to develop support plans and risk assessments.

Care records were person centred and contained detailed support plans and risk assessments that guided staff on the support people needed to meet their health and social care needs. Care records were reviewed regularly to ensure they reflected people’s current needs.

Robust recruitment procedures were in place which ensured only staff suitable to work in the caring profession were employed. Staff received the training, support and supervision they needed to carry out their roles effectively.

The provider was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People told us they had been consulted about their care records and felt involved in how their care and support was provided. They said staff always consulted them before providing support. Staff were able to tell us how they supported people to make their own decisions. The registered manager and staff were aware of the process to follow should a person lack the capacity to consent to their care.

People told us the service was reliable and that visits were never missed. People told us the staff was friendly and they were usually supported by the same staff, who knew them well.

If people required staff to assist or support them to prepare food and drink, information was present within their support plan and staff told us they encouraged people to eat a healthy diet.

We found the registered manager and staff we spoke with were able to tell us about the people who used the service. They knew their likes and dislikes and things that were important to them. They all spoke respectfully and with warmth about people who used the service.

There was a robust system of weekly, monthly and annual quality monitoring and auditing in place to help improve the quality of the service provided. There was a complaints procedure for people to voice their concerns. People told us they had no complaints but were confident that they would be listened to and action would be taken to resolve any problems they may have in the future.