Archived: Reablement Services South Team

Updated 4 August 2016

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.

The inspection took place on 22 June 2016 and was announced. We told the provider 48 hours in advance, so they had time to arrange for us to speak with staff. The inspection was conducted by two inspectors and an expert-by-experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. We also looked at statutory notifications sent to us by the service. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law.

We reviewed the information in the provider’s information return (PIR). This is a form we asked the provider to send to us before we visited. The PIR asked the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information when conducting our inspection, and found it reflected what we saw during our inspection visit.

Prior to the inspection visit, we spoke by telephone to twelve people who received, or had recently received, care and support in their own homes. We also spoke to two relatives of people who used the service. During our inspection visit, we spoke with the registered manager and six staff members. They were known as ‘reablement’ staff.

We reviewed seven people’s care plans, to see how their care and support was planned and delivered. We looked at other records related to people’s care, and how the service operated to check how the provider gathered information to improve the service. This included medicine records, staff recruitment records, the provider’s quality assurance audits and records of complaints.

Updated 4 August 2016

This inspection took place on 22 June 2016 and was announced.

The Reablement Services South Team supports people in their own homes to achieve their pre-treatment, or pre-hospitalisation, level of independence within six weeks of support. At the time of our inspection, 78 people were supported with care.

The service had a registered manager. 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 and their relatives told us they felt safe with the staff who supported them. Staff received training to safeguard people from abuse. They were supported by the provider, who acted on concerns raised and ensured staff followed safeguarding policies and procedures. Staff understood what action they should take in order to protect people from abuse. Risks to people’s safety were identified and staff were aware of current risks, and how they should be managed.

People were administered medicines by staff who were trained and assessed as competent to give medicines safely. Records indicated people’s medicines were given in a timely way and as prescribed. Checks were in place to ensure medicines were managed safely.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs effectively, and people told us they had a consistent and small group of staff who supported them, which they appreciated. The provider conducted pre-employment checks prior to staff starting work, to ensure their suitability to support people who lived in their homes.

Staff asked people for their consent before undertaking any care tasks. The provider supported people who were able to make their own decisions, and staff respected their right to do so. Staff and the registered manager had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act.

People and relatives told us staff treated people with dignity, kindness and respect. People’s privacy was maintained. People were supported to make choices about their day to day lives.

People saw health professionals when needed, and the care and support provided was in line with what they had recommended. People’s care records were written in a way which helped staff to deliver personalised care and gave staff information about people’s communication needs, their likes, dislikes and preferences. Care plans focussed on the outcomes people wanted to achieve to regain their independence, and were regularly reviewed to ensure this happened effectively.

People and relatives told us they felt able to raise any concerns with the registered manager. They felt these would be listened to and responded to effectively and in a timely way. Staff told us the registered manager and senior staff were approachable and responsive to their ideas and suggestions. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the support provided, and the provider regularly sought feedback from people and their relatives with a view to improving the service.