Archived: Coombe Farm

In the areas of provision we looked at during this inspection we found people were cared for by sufficient numbers of staff. Support was being delivered to ensure the safety and welfare of people.

We spoke with six staff who told us they had enjoyed working for the service. They were able to tell us of the training they had received and confirmed informal support was available from senior staff within the service.

Senior learning support and support staff had not always had access to robust supervision and training systems. This meant some senior learning support and support staff had not had the skills and knowledge required to fulfil their roles.

The provider had taken action in August 2013 to address the concerns we received by re-organising staff teams and enabling some staff to access appropriate training.

Further improvements were needed in the formal and systemised supervision and training of staff to ensure they were always able to support people professionally and skilfully.

We asked people to tell us what it was like to receive services from this home care agency, how people's dignity was upheld and how they made choices about their care. Not all people were able to express an opinion verbally so we also observed their interactions with staff and spoke to relatives.

The people we spoke with gave positive feedback about the service and said that care workers respected their choices about the way that care was delivered.

People confirmed that the care workers supported and encouraged them to maintain as much independence as possible. Staff had the appropriate knowledge and skills to meet their needs.

Parents and other health and social care professionals found the agency communicated with them effectively to the benefit of the people being supported.

Work had been undertaken on the quality assurance systems of the service. These were still developing but we could see that people were consulted about the support they received.

We asked people to tell us what it was like to receive services from this home care agency, how people's dignity was upheld and how they made choices about their care. Not all people were able to express an opinion verbally so we observed their interactions with staff and spoke to relatives.

All the people we spoke with gave positive feedback about the service and said that care workers respected their choices about the way that care was delivered. People felt safe using this service and knew what to do if they had any concerns.

People confirmed that the care workers supported and encouraged them to maintain as much independence as possible. Staff had the appropriate knowledge and skills to meet their needs.

The quality assurance systems of the service were still developing. We found at this inspection that the provider was not operating an effective system to monitor the quality of services it provided.