Archived: Sutton Carers Support Service

We found the agency offered an organised service to carers who live with and look after family members. People told us the manager and staff provided flexible and responsive support. Their comments included, 'they go above and beyond','they've been excellent and always managed to fit us in' and 'staff have bent over backwards for us at times.' One person told us 'they provide a valuable service for carers in my position.' Another person said, 'Prospect set a gold standard for a caring agency.'

We also spoke to relatives of people who were receiving care and support. They were complimentary about the service being provided and the competence and reliability of care staff. Comments included, 'they do a brilliant job' 'fantastic care' 'all 3 of my carers are fabulous' 'they turn up on time and when they are supposed to' and 'they are always prompt to time.' One person's relative told us 'I am happy to go off somewhere and not worry.'

We found that people's needs were properly assessed and that care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plans. People using the service and their relatives were fully involved in planning their care.

There were robust arrangements in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. People spoken with confirmed that they felt safe and had no concerns regarding the care provided or the staff who supported them.

People were protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider had appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines.

We found that people were supported by regular staff who were appropriately trained and supervised. The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received. Ongoing audits and feedback from people using the service was used to improve the support they received.

We found the agency offered a flexible and organised service to carers who live with and look after family members. People using the service told us that the agency was meeting their care and support needs. Their comments included, 'they are magnificent, really marvellous', 'if I need extra help, they are willing to arrange it' and 'they will bend over backwards for us.'

People we spoke to said they had regular staff and were kept informed if there was a change. Comments included, 'if they send someone else I know who it is' and 'they always let me know if there's a change.'

All the people using the service complimented the staff and described them as 'excellent', 'super, always on time' and 'lovely to deal with.' One person said, " X (name of staff) is excellent and such a support to X' (name of person using service)

People told us that the agency kept in touch with them on a regular basis. They knew how to complain but said they had never needed to.

Care records provided accurate information about people's needs which meant that staff understood how to support individuals and provide consistent care. There were effective systems in place to monitor service quality and staff received appropriate training and support to meet people's needs.