25 February 2014
During an inspection looking at part of the service
The provider had information about people's current needs and most people we spoke with said the service met these needs. There was praise for the qualities of the care workers, such as being caring, gentle, courteous and patient. A person using the service said, 'It means such a lot when you get a lovely good morning greeting, it makes you feel important.' A few people were not happy with the quality of the service and said calls were sometimes late or one care worker came instead of two.
Staff were trained in assisting with medication and most of them understood the policy and procedures to follow. However, there were some inconsistencies in the way that support with medication was recorded, and care workers did not always follow Ark procedures.
Care workers we spoke with who had joined the provider in the last year, told us about the process for applying for jobs and being interviewed. There were appropriate checks in place before care workers began working for Ark.
We found the provider had monitoring checks in place to assess the quality of the service, but there was inconsistency in the way that findings of these checks were addressed. A few people we spoke with said when they raised concerns about the service, Ark did not take action to make improvements.
The records of people using the service and staff were accurate and fit for purpose. A relative said that the care workers log of their tasks contributed to continuity of care.