12 February 2020
During a routine inspection
Kirklees Council – South Short Term and Urgent Support Team provide a reablement and rapid response service. The reablement service provides people with support for up to six weeks to help them live independently at home. In some instances people receive 'extended reablement' beyond six weeks until a permanent care provider can be found. The rapid response service supports people for up to two weeks to prevent admission to hospital or in the event of a breakdown in carer arrangements. At the time of our inspection there were 120 people receiving support with personal care from the service.
People’s experience of using this service
People felt safe using the service and in the presence of staff. A range of assessments had been completed to identify risks and keep people safe. Staff had received training in safeguarding and knew how to identify and report any concerns. Enough staff were deployed to meet people’s needs and provide the support they required. Medicines were being managed safely by staff who had been trained and assessed as competent.
Staff received regular training and ongoing support to enable them to carry out their roles effectively. People told us staff were competent and supported them in the way they wanted. Detailed assessments were completed prior to the service starting, to capture people’s goals and what they wanted from the reablement process.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Staff were described as friendly, supportive, patient and very caring. People and relatives spoke highly of the support provided by the service. People were treated with dignity and respect and supported to regain as much independence as possible, at a pace which suited them.
People received personalised care which met their need and wishes. Regular reviews were completed, to discuss people’s progress and ensure their support plans were up to date and accurate. Information on how to raise a concern or complaint was provided to each person using the service. None of the people or relatives we spoke with had any concerns. Any complaints which had been submitted, had been managed appropriately.
The service was well run with a clear leadership system in place. Staff enjoyed working for the service and felt supported in their roles. This was evidenced by the low staff turnover rate and length of people’s employment. Regular meetings were held to review people’s care and provide support to staff. A new, robust auditing system had been designed and implemented along with an ongoing action plan, to ensure continuous improvement.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection (and update)
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 20 February 2019) and there was one breach of the regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.