Archived: Independence Homes Domiciliary Care Agency

We were told by staff that people who used the agency were supported to be part of the assessment process so they had a say about what type of service they wanted.

Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that ensured people's safety and welfare. The provider identified any potential risks and steps were taken to reduce and where possible, eliminate these risks.

Policies and procedures for protecting people from abuse, including staff training, meant that people were protected from the risk of abuse and harm. The managers were aware of how to report concerns and who to report to. Staff had received training in how to recognise and respond to possible abuse.

Staff told us that they had appropriate training and support from the provider that ensured that they all had a clear understanding of the needs of the people who they looked after. One staff member told us that during their induction they undertook training in Epilepsy, learning disability awareness, medication storage and administration, manual handling as well as more specific areas for individual people who used the service.

We saw that the provider carried out regular periodic reviews of all its services and that this information was reviewed and staff told us that it was 'acted upon'.

We spoke to two external stakeholders who purchase care for people who use the service. We were told that in respect the domiciliary care agency effective care and support arraignments were in place for the people they support and fund.

We conducted an analysis of 51 Quality Assurance questionnaires (QA) that had been completed and returned by the people who use the service, their relatives and external stakeholders. The completed analysis's indicated a good level of satisfaction with the care provided by Independence Homes Domiciliary Care Agency. The majority of people who returned the completed QA's indicated a high level of satisfaction with the service. The QA satisfaction scale was between "1-to-10, 1 meaning totally unhappy, 10 meaning completely happy". The analysis demonstrated that the range of satisfaction at it lowest was 8 and two had a level of 10 in satisfaction.