The office visit of this inspection took place on 6 September 2018 and was announced.Acme Care Ltd is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the service supported 19 people and employed 28 care staff. Three people who used the service required regular support with personal care, other people required assistance to access community facilities. Staff provided personal care to people accessing community facilities when needed. Some people received support 24 hours a day, while other people received support at pre- arranged times.
At our last comprehensive inspection of the service in December 2015 we rated the service as Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.
A requirement of the provider’s registration is that they have a registered manager. There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. The registered manager was also an owner of the company, and the providers ‘nominated individual’ for the service. 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 received care which protected them from avoidable harm and abuse. Staff understood people’s needs and knew how to protect them from the risk of abuse. Risks to people’s safety were identified and assessments were in place to manage identified risks. Where people required support to take prescribed medicines, staff had received training to assist people safely.
There were enough skilled and experienced staff to meet the needs of people who used the service. People were supported by staff who had the skills and training to meet their needs. Recruitment checks were completed on new staff to ensure they were suitable to support people who used the service.
The managers and staff understood their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. People were involved in making every day decisions and choices about how they wanted to live their lives.
People were supported by a team of regular staff that they knew and who they said were kind and caring. Staff respected people's privacy and dignity and promoted their independence. Relatives and people said the support they received helped people who used the service live independently in their own homes.
The service was responsive to people’s needs and wishes. People were provided with care and support which was individual to them. Support plans were detailed and personalised. Plans provided guidance for staff about how to support each person in the way they preferred. People’s care and support needs were kept under review and staff responded when there were changes in these needs. Where required, people were supported to have sufficient to eat and drink and their health needs were regularly monitored.
The service continued to be well led. Staff said they received good support from the management team who were always available to give advice. Managers and staff told us there was good team work and that all staff worked well together. There were effective and responsive processes for assessing and monitoring the quality of the service provided.