Archived: Reablement Services South Team

Updated 4 October 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This comprehensive inspection was carried out by one inspector.

The provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) before this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information in the PIR during our visit. We found the information reflected how the service operated and provided us with a detailed, evidence based picture of their service.

Prior to our office visit we looked at any information shared with us by the local authority commissioners. Commissioners are people who work to find appropriate care and support services which are paid for by the local authority. We looked at the statutory notifications the provider had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law.

Inspection activity started prior to our office visit by us sending out survey questionnaires to people who used the service, staff and community professionals. We received 11 completed survey questionnaires from people, 43 from staff and three from community professionals. This information was used to help us form our judgements based on their experiences. Inspection activity ended once we had contacted people and relatives on 17 September 2018.

We visited the office location on 6 September 2018 and spoke with the registered manager, a team manager, an assessment team manager, an occupational therapy assistant, an occupational therapist, two reablement assistants, a reablement officer and a reablement supervisor. We asked staff about the roles in supporting people and what is was like to work for Reablement South. We also reviewed care records and policies and procedures.

During our visit the provider gave us a list of people who used the service who had given permission for us to contact them. This was so we could speak with them direct by telephone to ask them their views of the service. We spoke with three people who used the service and two relatives. We used this information to help us make a judgement about the service. We reviewed two people’s individual support plans to see how their care and support was planned and delivered. We looked at provider records such as parts of their staff recruitment checks, staff training records and records associated with the provider's quality governance systems. We also looked at examples of assistive technology that staff used to help promote people’s independence and life skills.

Updated 4 October 2018

The office inspection visit took place on 06 September 2018 and was announced. This was so we could speak with staff and to ensure the provider had sought people’s consent so we could speak with them following our visit to get their feedback about the service they received.

This was the first comprehensive inspection of the service since it was registered at this location in April 2017.

Reablement South is a domiciliary care agency that covers the geographical area of South Warwickshire to provide personal care to people living in their own home. Their primary role was to provide a reablement service for up to six weeks to support people to regain their independence, following discharge from hospital or to prevent further admissions. Following a six-week period, there could be an opportunity to provide additional support or arrange for some people to access other care providers to consider longer term care needs. At the time of this inspection the service supported 56 people with aspects of personal care.

A requirement of the provider’s registration is that they have a registered manager. There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People felt safe using the service and there were sufficient available staff to provide the care and support people required. Staff had completed safeguarding training and understood how to keep people safe from avoidable harm and poor practice. Risks to people’s safety were identified and assessments completed to guide staff about how to reduce or manage known risks.

The provider’s recruitment procedures made sure staff were safe to work with people who used the service. People received their prescribed medicines from staff who had completed training to do this safely and who checked regularly to ensure they remained competent.

People had a detailed assessment completed prior to the service being started. This gave the provider confidence that the people were suitable for the short-term care package and that staff could meet their care and support needs.

Staff received an in-depth induction when they started working for the service and the training they received was in line with the Care Certificate. Staff completed essential training that equipped them with the skills and knowledge to support people’s needs and the provider encouraged staff to fulfil their own personal developmental opportunities.

People received support from other healthcare professionals to ensure their overall health and wellbeing was met. Regular checks and monitoring ensured medicines continued to be given to people safely by trained and competent staff. Calls were planned to ensure time critical medicines were given safely and in line with people’s prescription.

The registered manager and staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act. However, for people to receive this service, they needed to have capacity to agree to the support. Staff’s approach from the initial assessment onwards was to ask for people’s consent before they provided care and they respected the decisions people made.

The provider’s goal was to support people to regain their independence after discharge from hospital. The service was ‘non-time specific’ which meant care staff did not always have set times to visit people. However, people’s calls were allocated within a specified timeframe in line with people’s needs. Not all the people who used the service knew this and expected care staff to arrive at consistent and prearranged times.

People received care from staff who they considered to be kind and caring, and who stayed long enough to provide the care and support people required. Staff promoted people’s privacy and dignity.

Individual support plans provided clear information for staff about people’s preferences, their care needs and the support they needed to regain independence. People’s needs were kept under review and plans updated as people’s independence increased. People knew how to complain, and information about making a complaint was available for people.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and had regular individual meetings and observations of their practice to make sure they carried these out safely. There was an ‘out of hours’ on call system 365 days of the year which ensured support and advice was always available for staff outside of usual office hours.

The management team worked well together and the provider had effective and responsive processes for assessing and continually monitoring the quality of the service they delivered. The registered manager was reviewing their systems to ensure people’s feedback shaped the service they received and participation in national projects ensured assistive technologies continued to benefit people they supported.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.