We spoke with people who use the services and other people who were either next of kin or representatives of people who use the service. We asked their views about how they are involved in making decisions about their care, support and treatment and how the service is run.People told us they have information about the service and plans of care which they keep in their homes.
People said that staff supports them to make decisions for themselves and assist them to plan their care to make sure they were able to maximise dignity, privacy and independence.
Comments included '
'I know that staff do their very best to make my life easier for me.'
'Staff ask me what I want every time they call, even thought it is written in my care plan. They don't do anything unless I say it is alright.'
'I know who to approach if I am not happy with anything.'
People also told us that staff are kind, caring and very polite.
People said that staff are consistent and reliable. However they said that staffing levels were quite poor and as a consequence staff who are trained to provide certain tasks, such as tracheotomy or peg feed need to work a lot of hours to provide needs led care.
We spoke with relatives of people who use the service and they said that staff understood the individual care, treatment and support needs and discussed any issues or areas of concern and made them aware of updates to care plans and worked with them to find out how changing needs would be met. However it was stated that they feel that a very limited amount of staff are trained to provide specialised care and support and these staff members are required to work longer hours as a consequence. However people were adamant that this does not impact unfavourably upon the standard of care provided.
We asked the people using the agency about the choice and control they have over their daily lives. People said that they choose their own daily routine as to when to get up, choice of meals throughout the day, support with personal care, and are supported to manage their own affairs when possible, for example manage their own money or medication.