Archived: Camborne STEPS

Camborne STEPS (Short Term Enablement and Planning Service) is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides care visits for periods of up to six weeks. The aim of the service is to re-enable people to maximise and re-gain their independence, within their own home, after a period of illness and/or hospital stay. The service provides support to adults of all ages. On the days of the inspection the service was providing personal care to 28 people. Referrals for packages of care were made to the service by health and social care professionals. These included; hospital discharge teams, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

There was a registered manager in post who was responsible for the day-to-day running of 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they felt safe using the service commenting, “They [staff] make me feel safe and secure” and “The service is amazing, I wish I had had them sooner.”

People told us staff were caring and compassionate in the way they supported them and were respectful of their privacy and dignity. Comments from people included, “I look forward to staff coming”, “I enjoy the chats I have with staff”, “They [staff] have been fully supportive, they are brilliant” and “Staff are always cheerful.”

People told us they had regular staff, they knew the times of their visits and were kept informed of any changes. People told us the service was reliable and no one reported ever having had any missed visits. We were told that staff did not rush people and provided care and support at their pace, focusing on enabling them to do as much as possible for themselves. People praised staff on how they encouraged and helped them gain the confidence they needed to meet their goals. People commented, “STEPS has changed my mind-set, I have become more positive in my approach. I was focusing on what I couldn’t do and staff have made me see what I can do”, “Staff have really listened to me and given me confidence”, “They have been encouraging but not in a pushy way “and “By the second visit I knew that this was a different service.”

Staff were knowledgeable about the people they cared for and responded appropriately as people’s needs changed. The registered manager ensured staff received appropriate training and supervision. New staff received an induction, which incorporated the care certificate. Staff spoke with passion and kindness about the people they supported and were clearly committed to providing a responsive and caring service in line with people’s agreed goals. Comments from staff included, “I enjoy my job”, “I find it very rewarding seeing people progress” and “I love the interaction with people and supporting them to be more independent.”

People were involved in decisions about their care and the development of their goals and aspirations. Care plans provided staff with clear direction and guidance about how to meet people’s individual reablement needs and goals. Care plans were reviewed weekly to evaluate the progress people were making against their overall goals and agree the next steps for the following week. Any risks in relation to people’s care and support were identified and appropriately managed.

Staff had been recruited safely, which meant they were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Staff had received training in how to recognise and report abuse. All were clear about how to report any concerns and were confident that any allegations made would be fully investigated to help ensure people were protected. There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff available to meet the needs of people who used the service.

The management had a clear understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how to make sure people who did not have the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves had their legal rights protected.

The registered manager and staff worked with healthcare professionals to develop individual care plans and exercise programmes to help people achieve their goals and regain their independence. Healthcare professionals told us, “All the STEPS services are good, Camborne is particularly responsive to people’s needs and gets good results” and “People make much better progress with the STEPS team.”

The registered manager was clearly passionate about providing a good service to people and shared this enthusiasm with the staff team. They recognised that if staff felt valued in their roles this would be reflected in the way staff provided care and support to people. Staff told us, “I get a lot of support from managers”, “Good management, they ask for feedback and really listen to what you say”, “Management are very good”, “and “Team leaders supervise us working and give us constructive feedback about our work, which means you can keep improving.” Feedback from people who used the service confirmed that staff had a caring and professional approach. One person told us, “Staff are friendly and professional.”

There were effective quality assurance systems in place to make sure that any areas for improvement were identified and action taken to continuously improve the quality of the service provided. People and their families told us the management team was very approachable and they were included in decisions about the running of the service. People had details of how to raise a complaint and told us they would be happy to make a complaint if they needed to. Comments from people included, “I have already told my friends to ask if they can use the service if they need it” and “I would recommend anyone to use the service.”