The Care Quality Commission
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Archived: Housing & Care 21 - Wolverhampton

43 Bell Place, First Floor, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV2 4LY 0370 192 4488

Provided and run by:
Housing 21

All Inspections

21 February 2014

During a routine inspection

Housing 21 (Wolverhampton) was providing a personal service to 95 people at the time of our inspection. We spoke with the registered manager and a training manager at the time we visited the agency's office and one member of staff. We also looked at people's records as well as other records about the running of the agency. We spoke with seven people that received a service, four people's representatives and four care workers by phone after our visit to the agency.

The people we spoke with told us they were satisfied with the care and support provided by the agency. People told us care workers were very caring and one person told us, 'Quite satisfied with service' and another said, 'It's alright'. One relative told us there was a, 'Really lovely team of carers'.

People told us that care workers always took precautions to ensure they carried out personal care in a way that reduced the risk of spreading any infection.

The agency had systems in place to ensure that they employed care workers that were suitable to work with vulnerable people. One person told us 'Even new (care workers) seem to have had good training".

We saw that systems were in place to gain people's views about the service they received and we heard from people that the manager and seniors sought their views, and responded to these.

15 February 2013

During a routine inspection

We visited the office and spoke by phone with six of the 90 people who used the service or their relatives. We spoke with the new manager and seven staff. We looked at records about six people, staff and running of the agency.

People and families felt comfortable and safe with consistent staff. Most described a flexible, reliable service and were satisfied that their needs were well met. People commented, 'They're excellent', 'Mostly good', the staff are 'Kind', 'Helpful'. Most people had no complaints or their service had improved following a complaint.

Staff had guidance to reduce most known risks and to maintain people's dignity and independence. Senior staff carried out regular spot checks of staff practice and audits of records, and asked for people's views. This ensured care was delivered in accordance with care plans agreed with families and other professionals.

Staff had ongoing training and felt well supported. There were formal systems for regular supervision and appraisal. We observed that advice and emergency assistance was readily available. Requests from people and staff were efficiently managed at the office.

Staff had been trained to recognise and report a concern of abuse or poor practice to line managers. Managers and provider had worked with other agencies to protect people when necessary. The manager acted on matters we raised about one person, and intended to improve the systems in place to demonstrate that missed calls seldom arose.