Archived: Nurses Friend

Most of the relatives we spoke with told us that they were happy with the level of care that their family member received from the service. They also told us that the care was provided by regular carers who understood the needs of their family member. One of the relatives told us; 'they understand his needs and know how to look after him, they are brilliant, the carers are like family'. They also told us that the care given by staff enabled their family member to live an independent life. They said this was the most important part of the care they received.

The majority of the relatives we spoke with told us that they were fully involved with their family members care planning. They said that the staff communicated with them on a regular basis. They also told us that the office contacted them immediately if they had any concerns regarding the care. They told us that they received communication about staff rotas, so that they knew which staff would be caring for their relative.

One relative told us that a communication book was kept in their house. This was so that staff could write down any issues which they needed to communicate to either family members or other staff. Two of the relatives we spoke with told us if they wanted to make a complaint they would tell one of the carers or contact the office. They told us that they knew that their complaint would be dealt with.

Two relatives raised concerns with us about how their relative was being looked after by the service. One relative said that they were concerned when their family member's mobility became poor and they required the assistance of more staff. We spoke with one of the managers about this. They told us that they had recently made sure that new equipment was in place to meet the person's mobility needs. They also told us that a second member of staff was always on call in case the person needed an additional member of staff.

Another relative raised a concern about staff training. They said that they were worried that some staff had not received adequate training to meet their relative's individual needs. We spoke with one of the managers about this. They told us that some of the staff had worked under the supervision of nursing staff and that only trained members of staff were allowed to carry out certain tasks. We looked at the staff training records to check that the staff had received training to do their job. We saw that the staff had received adequate training for the job they were doing. Another relative told us that the staff had been well trained to care for their relative.