The inspection was announced and took place on 26 September 2017. This service has not yet been rated and this is the first inspection to take place at this service.

Surecare Barnet provides personal care and support to people in their own homes and the wider community. At the time of the inspection it was supporting 17 people with a range of needs from learning disabilities to palliative care. It provides a range of support covering varied amounts of support hours, helping some people with a few hours a week to maintain independence, up to one person having a live-in carer to support them to live at home and have their complex health care needs met.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection that had been registered with the service since it first started in 2016. 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 with care staff and there were enough staff to meet their needs. There was a safeguarding process in place and staff knew what abuse looked like and how to report it. There had been no safeguarding incidents in the year leading up to the inspection. Risks regarding care delivery were assessed and included action for staff to take to support each person to mitigate risks. Safe recruitment processes were followed. Medicines were managed safely but we did feedback that one person’s Medicine Administration Record was not clear and this was amended promptly. Infection control equipment was used.

The service was acting within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and consent was sought for care provision and recorded in files. Staff understood consent and had attended training in this area. Staff were supported through regular supervisions, yearly appraisals and provided with training in areas required to meet the needs of people effectively.

People were supported to eat and drink where required and this was recorded appropriately. Positive health choices were encouraged and care staff supported people to link in with GPs and other health care professionals when needed.

People said the service was caring and they felt well looked after. People were treated with dignity and respect and care staff gave examples of how they could respect people whilst providing personal care. Cultural and religious preferences were recorded and observed during care provision.

People were involved in their care planning and reviews and there were regular checks on the quality of care. Feedback was sought from people and relatives, and was acted on. The complaints procedure was followed and complaints were appropriately recorded and acted upon.

Care staff fed back the service was well led and they felt supported by the registered manager. Audits to check the quality of care were robust and recorded where action was taken. The service worked in partnership with key health professionals to provide effective thoughtful care.