During our inspection we spoke with one person who used the service, to three relatives and one member of staff.Below is a summary of what we found. The summary describes what people using the service, their relatives and the staff told us and the records we looked at.
If you want to see the evidence that supports our summary please read the full report.
This is a summary of what we found:
Is the service safe?
People told us that they felt their rights and dignity were respected. One person said "The level of care is very good, they are here for you'. A relative said 'The care provided to my parent is fantastic, they make sure they are involved and included'
Systems were in place to make sure that managers and staff learned from events such as accidents and incidents, complaints, concerns, whistleblowing and investigations. This reduced the risks to people and helped the service to continually improve.
Staff knew about risk management plans and told us about how they had followed them. People were not put at unnecessary risk but also had access to choice and remained in control of decisions about their care and lives.
Policies and procedures were in place about all aspects of service provision.
The provider ensured that staff rotas where planned so that people's care needs were taken into account when making decisions about the numbers, qualifications, skills and experience required. This helped to ensure that people's needs were always met. People had their needs assessed before they began using the service. People's needs were assessed by experienced staff.
Is the service effective?
People's health and care needs were assessed with them, and they were involved in
writing their plans of care. Care plans were reviewed every six months or sooner if required. People who use the service, their relative sand staff could contact the provider at any time and frequently did so. Any changes were responded to with a visit by the provider and reassessment of needs.
People said that their care plans were up to date and reflected their current needs.
One person said "They have helped me to improve, I am almost ready to go solo'.
All staff received induction training and annual training updates. A staff member we spoke with was extremely knowledgeable about the person's needs and preferences. They knew about the person's preferences and also described how they worked closely with the community nursing team and GP.
Is the service caring?
We spoke with one person who used the service and to three relatives. We asked them for their opinion about the staff that supported them. Feedback from people was positive, for example; "The level of love and attention is good' and "The level of caring is very good, they are here for you'
When speaking with staff it was clear that they genuinely cared for the people the person they supported. They also described how caring the provider was and told us they always acted quickly to respond to people's changing needs.
Is the service responsive?
People knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy. People told us they could contact the provider at any time and had their care and support needs reviewed at least every six months. We were given examples of how the provider had acted quickly and appropriately in response to changing need and to issues of concern. A staff member also confirmed that this was the case.
At the time of our visit there was no one from an ethnic minority community using the service. We were told that written information could be translated into other languages and that people's cultural and religious needs were considered as part of the assessment process.
Is the service well led?
The provider had a quality assurance system, and records showed that identified problems and opportunities to change things for the better were addressed promptly. As a result the quality of the service was continuously improving.
Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities. Staff had a good understanding of the ethos of the service and quality assurance processes were in place. This helped to ensure that people received a good quality service at all times.