Warwickshire Reablement Service

Updated 12 July 2019

The inspection

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

The inspection team consisted of one inspector and one Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

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

This inspection was announced.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 31 May 2019 and ended 3 June 2019. We visited the office location on 31 May 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 12 people who used the service and three relatives. We also spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records which included care plans, risk assessments and their nutrition and medication needs. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, complaints, incidents and policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 12 July 2019

About the service

Reablement Services North is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service was supporting 56 people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People and their relatives said they received safe care from the service. One person told us, "Yes I definitely feel safe.” Staff knew how to keep people safe and what to do if they had concerns. Staff had been recruited safely. People always received their care. People who required medicines had them administered safely. Staff protected people from the risk of infection and managed their medicines safely. Where things had gone wrong the registered manager learnt lessons to prevent these from happening again.

People and their relatives were involved in their care and made their own decisions how staff supported them. People trusted staff because they were trained well. Experienced staff supported new staff into their role. The registered manager had complete oversight of the staff and supported them with supervision. People’s nutritional needs were managed well. Staff knew risks to people and alerted GP’s or other health care professionals swiftly. People’s consent to receive care was always obtained.

People said they were treated kindly and compassionately. They were complimentary of how staff took time to get to know them and their needs. People said they staff respected their dignity and privacy. The service supported people to become more independent and spoke highly of staff for their approach in achieving this. People could understand the information they were given. It was made available in many formats and languages and could be translated if required. People’s care was arranged individually according to their needs. Some people did not have choice of the exact times their care was delivered. Those who needed it at critical times were prioritised.

The service was frequently complimented on its quality of care and of the staff providing it. People didn’t make complaints about the service.

The service was well managed, and the quality of the service was reviewed regularly. The staff had faith in managers and their colleagues and welcomed opportunities to develop. Staff were happy in their role and were proud of the improvements they made to people’s lives. The service invested in their staff and were open to suggestions on how to improve.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 04 August 2016)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.