Archived: Dudley Domicilary Services

We saw that care plans were person centred and comprehensive. People's needs had been individually assessed. One relative told us, 'We were very involved in developing the plans for the care that X needs'.

The people and relatives we spoke with were complimentary about the staff caring for them. One person said, 'Staff are nice to me'. One relative told us, 'Staff are wonderful'. We sampled two staff files and found that appropriate checks had been undertaken and references had been sought.

We saw that an effective quality monitoring programme was in place, which included people giving feedback about the support they received. This provided a good overview of the quality of the service provided.

Records we looked at were fit for purpose, easily accessible and securely stored.

People and their relatives had been involved in the planning of their care. They told us that they had been consulted about their preferences. One said, 'If I want something done in a certain way, they do it'.

Systems were in place to protect vulnerable people. Staff had training in safeguarding issues and records confirmed this. Staff we spoke with had a very good understanding of what may constitute adult abuse and knew what the reporting procedures were. A relative said, 'Safety is one hundred percent'.

Staff had regular supervision meetings with their managers. Staff had a good understanding of people's needs and what they needed to do to meet them. A staff member said, 'The level of support and training is high'.

People we spoke with were confident that they could raise concerns if they were not happy with the care being received. We saw evidence that complaints had been dealt with quickly and that action had been taken to address them. We saw that a system had been changed to become more robust as a result of a complaint.