This was the first inspection of The Care Company because the service had changed their registration, as they had moved their office location and it was a requirement of CQC to re-register. This inspection was announced.

The Care Company is a domiciliary care service provided to people living in their own homes. The service provides support to people with a wide range of care needs, including older adults with physical disabilities, sensory impairment, people living with dementia and helps people recover from illness and injury. At the time of the inspection 128 people were using the service.

The service has been operating for over 10 years in the local area around Tenterden. The service’s registration changed because they moved to a new office in June 2015.

The service has a registered manager who participated in the inspection. 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.

Each person had a care plan that gave sufficient information about their care and support and included their preferences. There were clear processes to support people to make decisions about their care and support. Mental capacity assessments had been carried out for people who lacked capacity and they were supported with best interest meetings that were recorded in their care plan.

Everyone we spoke to said they felt safe when being cared for by the care staff of The Care Company. Staff had received training in how to recognise abuse and knew how to blow the whistle on poor practice. There were clear processes and procedures for staff to follow if they had concerns and suspected abuse.

The service had supported people to have safe systems in their home to help protect them. People had been assisted to have lifeline fobs, falls monitors and smoke detectors. There were clear risk assessments and equipment used was checked for safety and staff had training to make sure they were competent to use it.

The registered manager and care staff worked closely with local health and social care professionals to support people’s health and wellbeing and make sure people were well hydrated and nourished. People were supported to take their medicines in the way they preferred.

New staff had been recruited safely. People were complimentary of the caring nature of the staff and said they were listened to and treated with respect. A person told us the care staff are, “All good. There’s not one that I’ve not been happy with.” People were supported to maintain as much independence as possible. Care staff provided some activities for people and spent time with them to protect them from social isolation. People said the care staff were reliable and always arrived at the time they said they would.

There was a good range of training to give staff the skills they needed to support people effectively. Staff were enthusiastic about the training they had attended and the service were innovative in the way they provided training. They had recently hired the ‘Dementia Bus’ that provided specialised training for staff to support people with dementia.

People said the service was well managed and were very pleased with the support they received. A person commented, “It’s absolutely fantastic”. There was a clear complaints system that included investigating any concern or complaint thoroughly and outcomes were recorded.

People, their relatives and care staff said they were asked what they thought of the service and felt listened to and valued. The service was signed up to the Social Care Commitment and the registered manager and team reviewed how they supported people in line with current good practice. (The Social Care Commitment is an agreement about improving workforce quality and prov