24 May 2012
During an inspection in response to concerns
Most of the people we talked to said the staff treated them with respect and encouraged them to make decisions about their care. One person told us, 'The staff are always polite and ask me how I like things done.' Another said, 'The staff are always pleasant and never try to boss me around.' One relative said they were dissatisfied with how staff spoke to their relative (one of the people who use the service) and this was being investigated by the agency.
People told us the care the agency provided was good and they got on well with the staff. One person said, 'I am extremely happy with the care I get.' One relative thought there should be more detail in care plans. They told us, 'Some times I have to tell the carers what to do. I shouldn't have to do that ' it should all be in the care plan.'
People told us they knew who to speak to if they had any concerns about the agency. One person said, 'I've had nothing to complain about but if I did I'd phone the office.' A relative said, 'If the carers are too early or too late I tell them off then tell the office.'
People said they liked the staff team. One person told us, 'Every carer that's come to me has been good.' Another person said they were pleased the agency was able to send the same carer most of the time. Another person said staff sometimes came too early and that caused them inconvenience. They told us, 'The staff are mostly on time but the odd one or two seem to please themselves when they visit. It's worse at weekends. They have come an hour and a half early in the past.'
People told us the agency gave them the opportunity to comment on the service. One person said, 'The agency contacts me occasionally to see if I'm happy with the care I'm getting.' A relative told us, 'We had a review to make sure everything was ok. I got a chance to say what I thought and they made some changes to improve things.'
Although people were generally satisfied with the agency we found there had been a delay in investigating two complaints, and staff supervision policies had not always been followed.