Archived: Caring for You

'They're a good team.'

'They're really wonderful.'

'They are kind and thorough.'

We looked at two care records and saw each person had a care plan which described their needs. We found the provider had begun to provide greater detail regarding people's preferences and how care should be delivered.

We saw the provider now had a recruitment policy in order to demonstrate that a structured recruitment process was in place. The provider informed us that no new members of staff had been recruited since the last inspection. However, the provider explained how he would meet the requirements of the regulations when recruiting new members of staff.

The provider now had a training programme in place to enable staff training to be kept up to date in mandatory areas, such as safeguarding and medicines.

We found the provider had taken steps to put a system in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of the service. We identified improvements had been made with the care records and staff records. However, we found not all relevant information was recorded and therefore there was still a risk that people were not protected from the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care and treatment.

All three people we spoke with were very happy with the care they received. Comments about staff included:

'I find them all very good. They are an excellent team and know what they're doing. They have made a world of difference to me.'

'I can't fault them. They are very knowledgeable. I'm so pleased we can get on with our lives.'

'They are so good to me. They are fantastic. I've got my independence back.'

The three members of staff spoken with said they had relevant caring experience and training with their previous employers. However, because the provider did not have a training programme in place to enable staff training to be kept up to date in mandatory areas, such as moving and handling, safeguarding and health and safety. This meant there was a risk that care may not be delivered to a safe and appropriate standard.

We found people's care needs were assessed and care plans were created on commencement of the care service. However these records lacked sufficient detail which meant there was a risk of unsafe or inappropriate care and treatment. We also found that the provider did not have an effective system in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of the service.