Archived: Reablement Services South Team

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.