15, 22 April 2014
During a routine inspection
This is the summary of what were found:-
Is the service safe?
People who used the service said they felt safe with the people who cared for them. A relative of a person who used the service said, 'I can leave them to do their job while I go to the shops.'
We found the provider had commenced reviews of care and had updated the care plans to ensure people were safe and their individual needs were met.
Staff we spoke with told us they had received relevant training in how to administer medication safely and correctly. One staff member said, 'Medication training was part of my induction. I have also completed a refresher course.
We saw a robust recruitment procedure was in place and relevant checks had taken place to ensure appropriate skilled staff were employed.
Is the service effective?
People who used the service told us the staff cared for them in a caring and effective way. One person said, "The staff support my needs and do what I ask ."
Another person told us they felt the service had improved. They said, 'We used to have many missed calls, but in the last six months they have been very few. The staff always contacts me if they are running late.
Is the service caring?
People who used the service told us the staff attended to their needs. They said they felt staff were caring and respectful. One relative of a person who used the service we spoke with told us their family member made choices and preferences know to the agency and they accommodated this wherever possible.
Is the service responsive?
We found the care coordinators had improved systems in place to monitor and coordinate people's care accordingly. There were systems in place to ensure each call was met.
We found systems were in place to make sure staff rota's were appropriate to the person who used the service's needs. Such as the time they take their medication. It was recorded on the rota the time and duration of the call and notes to make sure the person took their medication at the stated time.
We found although the provider had a complaint system in place, they did not respond or record concerns raised as per their own complaints policy and procedure. This meant the service was not always responsive when addressing complaints.
Is the service well led?
We found a new manager of the service was in place and staff told us they had confidence that information would be shared in a more efficient way with them.
We saw systems were in place to ensure staff were kept up to date with relevant information to help them with in their roles. One staff member said, 'We have team meetings, news letters and telephone contact with the field supervisor to make sure any changes to a person's needs are updated.'
People we spoke with told us they had noted a big improvement to the way the service was run.
We saw different audits were undertaken to measure the quality of the service and to ensure the service was run well.
We found medication audits had taken place. A named person was responsible for the audits. They made sure any audits undertaken regarding medication were robust and covered the requirements of the service policies and procedures. We saw the provider had incorporated medication competencies into staff supervision and the field care staff completed spot checks to monitored care workers performance to ensure they delivered people's care and medication according to their needs and as prescribed by the GP.