10 May 2012
During a routine inspection
We visited the agency office in Herefordshire and met four people who lived nearby in a shared house who were using the service. We talked to people about their experience of the care and service they received from the agency.
The registered manager told people that used the service and their families that we had inspected the service and some people gave us their views. We spoke to three of the care staff while we were in the office.
We found that people were supported to promote their independence and community involvement. The people we met told us the care staff supported them to do the activities they wanted such as shopping, banking and attending social occasions and health appointments. One person told us they were supported to keep their independence skills such as dressing and making drinks but were not made to do anything they did not want to do.
The registered manager showed us records from 'Your Voice' meetings that are held at least monthly with people using the service. The records we saw showed these meetings were helping people give their views and ideas and raise concerns. We could see that the registered manager had followed up on what had been discussed. A holiday had been arranged from one person's suggestion and another person's comment had led to them enjoying a new voluntary job. Concerns raised by one person had been taken seriously and had led to this person choosing which care staff supported them.
One person's relative told us, 'We visit every month and my sister-in-law is always well presented. She enjoys the trips out and keeps very busy. Some of the staff have supported her for many years and all the staff seem to have the right skills. We are always told if she is unwell and we are confident we would be taken seriously if we raised a concern".
We looked at how the service was provided to two people to see if their needs had been met. We found that people's needs were assessed and care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan.
The people we spoke to told us they felt able to tell the registered manager if they had any problems. We saw records of concerns that people who used the service had raised directly to care staff or the registered manager. The records were detailed and showed that the concerns had been taken seriously, fully investigated and resolved where possible to their satisfaction.
We saw that care staff interacted with people who lived in one shared house in a friendly and appropriate manner. People's daily records confirmed that there were enough care staff to enable them to go out regularly and take part in activities they enjoy or that help them develop life skills.
The care staff we spoke with said the team worked well together and supported each other. They felt the service was well managed and the registered manager was open to ideas for improvements. They were offered individual supervision every six weeks and an annual appraisal which had covered training and professional development needs.