We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

Three inspectors carried out this inspection. Two inspectors visited the service on 15 December 2020. One inspector made phone calls to people who used the service and their relatives.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that a manager would be in the office to support the inspection. In addition, we arranged for a space to work where we could maintain social distancing. The Inspection activity started on 8 December 2020. We visited the office location on 15 December 2020.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included notifications the provider is required by law to send us about events that happen within the service such as any serious injuries. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We looked at the provider’s website.

The provider was asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. However, we had not received a response to our request. We therefore asked the provider to give us information about their service and took this into account when we made the judgements in this report.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We received feedback from three people who used the service and 12 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke to a care co-ordinator and the registered manager who was also the provider. Due to the open plan layout of the office, we were unable to speak to members of care staff confidentially. We therefore contacted staff via email and telephone. Five current members of care staff provided us with feedback. We also received feedback from a previous member of care staff.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.