Wolverhampton City Council HARP Team (Home Assisted Reablement Programme)

Wolverhampton City Council HARP Team (Home Assisted Reablement Programme) is a short-term intensive support service for people requiring a period of home based reablement. At the time of the inspection 40 people were receiving a service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People felt safe when receiving support from staff. Staff were aware of how to identify and report concerns for people’s safety and well-being. Risks were assessed and managed to reduce the risk of avoidable harm. People received support from a consistent staff team who had been safely recruited. Where things had gone wrong, action had been taken to reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence.

People continued to receive support from staff who were trained and had the skills and knowledge to provide a good quality of care. People’s needs were assessed and reviewed to ensure their needs were met. Staff sought people’s consent and people were involved in decisions about their support. 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.

People spoke positively about the staff who supported them, describing them as kind and patient. Staff were enthusiastic about the service they provided and spoke about people with respect. People were actively supported to regain or maintain their independence during the short time they received support, and staff respected their privacy.

People received support from staff who understood their needs and preferences. Where people expressed a preference about who should support them, this was respected. People were confident to report any concerns to the registered manager who acted to ensure people received a quality service.

People, relatives and staff expressed confidence in the management of the service. Staff felt supported by the registered manager and were able to give feedback and contribute to the development of the service. The registered manager was aware of their regulatory responsibilities and worked in partnership with other agencies to ensure people’s care and support needs were met.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 19 July 2017).

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.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 were positive about the care provided by the service and said that they felt safe with the staff who supported them. Staff knew how to recognise the signs of potential abuse and knew the reporting system to keep people safe. Risks to people were assessed and reviewed regularly to ensure care remained appropriate for people’s needs. There were sufficient numbers of trained staff to meet people’s needs. People received their medicines as prescribed by staff who had been assessed as competent to give people’s medicines safely.

A thorough recruitment and induction process was in place to ensure people were supported by staff who had the skills and knowledge to care for them. People were involved in decisions about how they wanted their support needs met. Staff sought people’s consent before providing support. Staff respected people’s choices. People were supported to have sufficient to eat and drink and to access further healthcare support when required.

People said staff were kind and caring. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity. People were encouraged to give their feedback and views about the quality of the service they received.

Care was regularly reviewed to ensure it was reflective of people’s needs. There was a system in place to record and investigate complaints and we saw any concerns were dealt with appropriately.

People felt the service was very well run and the management team approachable. Staff were confident in their roles and were aware of their responsibilities. Quality audit processes were in place and completed regularly to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. People were happy to recommend the service to family and friends based on their own experiences.