This unannounced inspection took place on 7 and 9 November 2018. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is a small domiciliary care agency.

Springfields Community Care Limited is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide personal care to people within their own homes. At the time of our inspection, the service was providing personal care and support to three people. When we visited 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 said they felt safe because the staff group were kind and reliable. People continued to be supported by staff who respected their privacy and dignity. Staff relationships with the people they supported continued to be caring and supportive. Staff had a good understanding of the wishes of the people they cared for. People were supported by staff who recognised each person’s individuality and respected the way they chose to live their life.

There was a stable staff group which helped ensure a consistent approach.

Staff received training to cover all aspects of their role to ensure the support they were delivering was safe and effective.

There was a consistent approach to gain people's consent to care and treatment in line with requirements of the legislation and guidance. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to appropriate services, which ensured they received on-going healthcare support.

Staff felt supported and said there was good communication between the team, including the registered manager. Staffing arrangements remained flexible to meet people’s individual needs and to respond to changes. Staff received a range of training and regular support to keep their skills up to date to support people appropriately. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of what constituted abuse and how to report if concerns were raised.

There were systems in place to gain people's views and to address concerns and complaints. The service continued to provide well-led care to people. The service was well run by the registered manager and senior staff. A senior worker assisted the management team with reviews and spot checks to ensure people received a good quality service. Feedback from people using the service and quality assurance records showed this had been achieved.

This announced focused inspection took place on 17 August 2017. The provider was given short notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

At our previous inspection in April 2016 we found that risk had not been assessed by Springfields Community Care Limited for a person whose care we examined. Their care was shared between two domiciliary care agencies, with Springfields taking the secondary role. The agency taking the primary role had comprehensive risk assessments in place. For example for moving and handling and skin care. The provider had sent us an action plan telling us they would be meeting these requirements by May 2016. We undertook this focused inspection to check that they had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Springfields Community Care Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk. This inspection found improvements had been made by means of a joint service agreement with the primary agency and the sharing of the risk assessments.

Springfields Community Care Limited is registered to provide personal care to people within their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were three people receiving a service.

When we visited 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.

Staff were able to demonstrate a good understanding of what constituted abuse and how to report if concerns were raised. Medicines were safely managed on people’s behalf.

There were effective recruitment and selection processes in place. Staffing arrangements were flexible in order to meet people’s individual needs.

This unannounced inspection took place on 5 and 6 April 2016.

Springfields Community Care Limited is registered to provide personal care to people within their own homes. At the time of our inspection there was one person receiving a service.

When we visited 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.

Risk had not been assessed by the service for the person whose care we examined. The registered manager acknowledged they should have their own risk assessments in place or have a service agreement where care is shared with another service. The lack of risk assessments posed a risk that staff would not be aware of certain risks and know how to respond if changes were evident. However, the person said they felt safe and supported by staff in their home.

Staff were able to demonstrate a good understanding of what constituted abuse and how to report if concerns were raised.

Personalised care and support was provided specific to needs and preferences. Independence was promoted as people could develop their own care plan for staff to follow to ensure they received the support they wished. Staff told us that they found one care plan helpful to ensure the person got the exact care and support they wanted.

Staff relationships were caring and supportive. Staff were motivated and inspired to offer care that was kind and compassionate.

Staffing arrangements were flexible in order to meet individual needs. Staff received a range of training and regular support to keep their skills up to date in order to support people appropriately. Staff spoke positively about communication and how the management team worked well with them, encouraged team working and an open culture.

Checks were completed to assess the quality and safety of the service people received.

There was one breach in regulation. You can see what action we took at the end of the report.

We asked care workers how they were confident that they were respectful to people and that they had fully involved people in their care. One care worker said “In the person’s home, when I step through the door everything should be done in the way they want it done; they make all of the decisions. I try to think how I would feel if I was in their position”.

We visited the person that was receiving care and asked them if they were happy with the care and support they received. They said “I can assure you if anything was wrong people would soon know. I am no shrinking violet”.

The staff we spoke with told us they had received training in safeguarding adults and were able to tell us the types of abuse that people may experience and the signs that may suggest abuse had occurred.

We asked the manager about processes the agency had for monitoring the quality of the service provided and ensuring on-going improvement. The manager explained that she reviewed all incident and accident forms and from the information these contained compiled an annual report that summarised important issues and identified any changes that could be made.

The person the agency supported maintained their own records. Care staff we spoke with told us that the person was in control of their care and communicated any changes or requests, appointments or concerns by email. This ensured that their independence and control over their life was maintained as much as was possible.

We carried out an unannounced inspection on 16 November 2012. On the day of our visit we were told that there were two people receiving personal care from Springfields Community Care Limited. We spoke with both of them and looked at their care files, spoke with three staff members and the owners, one of whom was the registered manager.

Both people receiving personal care from Springfields Community Care Limited told us that they were very happy with the care and support they received and the staff were polite and easy to communicate with. Comments included: “It’s wonderful here, I feel very fortunate”, “They (the staff) help me with all my needs” and “I am able to maintain my independence and can choose what I do on a daily basis.”

Care files that we saw reflected people’s health and social care needs and demonstrated that other health and social care professionals were involved. This showed that people’s changing health and social care needs were addressed appropriately in line with advice from others.

The two people we saw and spoke with confirmed that they felt safe and supported by staff at Springfields Community Care Limited and had no concerns about the ability of staff to respond to safeguarding concerns. They felt that their human rights were upheld and respected by staff. Comments included: “The staff are lovely. I could raise any concerns to them if I had any” and “I am happy.”