Archived: SAGA Homecare Croydon

We did not speak with anyone who uses the care agency or their relatives, but we did receive 28 responses from people using the service and their relatives or friends who completed and returned our survey. On balance the feedback we received from these respondents was positive about their experiences of receiving care and support from the Croydon branch of SAGA Homecare. Nine out of ten people told us they were either very or fairy satisfied with the standard of care and support they received from this domiciliary care agency. Typical comments made, included: 'Carers look after my relative in an excellent way so that I do not have to worry' and 'The service received is excellent'.

Most respondents told us they had received enough information to enable them to understand the care and support choices available to them and that the agency has asked them about their personal care and support needs before they had started using the service.

We also received a lot of positive feedback from people who responded to our survey about care workers respecting their rights to privacy and dignity, as well as helping them to remain as independent as they could. The vast majority of respondents confirmed all or most care workers treated them or their relative in a respectful way, although we received some negative comments as well about the perceived attitude of some care workers. Typical feedback, included: 'My carer is cheerful with an upbeat attitude', 'carer workers have developed a good relationship with my relative and show genuine concern for their well-being', 'when visiting my home some (carers) don't bother to say hello', and 'Carers should not get the hump with me or huff and puff if asked to do something as if they are being pressured'.

However, on balance most of the people who completed our survey confirmed they received all the care and support that the agency had agreed to deliver, and the vast majority confirmed all or most care workers always completed all the care and support tasks they were expected to do.

Furthermore, almost 90% of these respondents confirmed care workers had never revealed any information about them or their care needs in front of others that they did not want shared and nor had they experienced any form of discrimination from the care agency. In addition, most people told us they believed all or most care workers had the right range of skills they needed to care and support them or their relative.

However, all the aforementioned positive comments notwithstanding we also received a number of negative comments. Some respondents told us about poor communication between the agency and people who use the service, especially when staff were running late or had to be changed at the last minute. In addition to this, nearly a third expressed being frustrated that all or most of their care workers did not arrive when they were meant to or stay for the agreed length of time. Typical feedback received, included: 'Too many carers change due to planned carer not being able to come', 'The agency does not contact me if carers are going to be late', and 'When carers are running late the agency do not always advice me there is going to be a change of care worker'.

A third of the people who responded to us also said the agency did not seek their views on how they wanted things to be done and a quarter felt their views were not always listened to and acted upon.

Finally, one-in-three respondents told us they had felt compelled to make a formal complaint about the agency in the last 12 months and a number of these complainants expressed being dissatisfied about the way their concern was dealt with. Comments we received from people who made formal complaints about the agency, included: 'Complaint raised and the agency never came back to me' and 'nothing gets done, everything goes under the carpet'.