Archived: Redspot Homecare (Essex) Limited

The service has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were safeguarded from the potential of harm and their freedoms protected. People were cared for safely by staff who had been recruited and employed after appropriate checks had been completed. Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. Staff supported people with their medication as required.

Staff had received training and had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care. The service worked well with other professionals to ensure that people's health needs were met. Where appropriate, support and guidance were sought from health care professionals, including GPs, district nurse and occupational therapist. People were supported with their nutrition and hydration needs.

Staff knew the people they were supporting and provided a personalised service. Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their care. Staff were attentive to people's needs and treated people with dignity and respect.

People were supported with activities which interested them. People knew how to make a complaint and these were fully investigated.

The manager had a number of ways of gathering people’s views including talking with people, staff, and relatives. They carried out a number of quality monitoring audits to help ensure the service was running effectively and to make improvements.

At the time of our inspection visit the manager told us there were 140 people using the service. As part of our inspection we telephoned 30 people who were using the service and we spoke with 21 people, or their relative/carer. We also spoke with ten staff and the manager of the service. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service and to the support needs of people who were using the service. These included eleven care and support plans, daily support records, complaint records, staffing records and service quality monitoring processes.

If you want to see the evidence supporting our summary please read our full report. We used the evidence we collected during our inspection to answer five questions.

Is the service safe?

People told us they felt safe. Safeguarding procedures were clear and staff understood how to safeguard people they supported.

People told us that they felt their rights and dignity were respected.

Staff knew about risk management plans and showed us examples where they had followed them. People were not put at unnecessary risk but also had access to choice and were fully involved in decisions about their care and lives.

Staff told us that they received good line management support in their roles which helped them to provide a caring and responsive service.

Is the service effective?

There was an advocacy service available if people requested it, this meant that when required people could access additional support.

People's health and care needs were assessed and they were involved in reviewing their plans of care.

People thought that their care plans were up to date and reflected their needs. Our review of records found this to be the case.

Is the service caring?

We spoke with people using the service or their carer/relative. We asked them for their opinions about the service and the staff that supported them. Feedback from people was mostly positive, for example, 'The staff from Redspot are kind to me and very good in what they do for me.' 'The regular carers who come to me are lovely and I think they are brilliant at their job.' One person said, 'My regular carers are first rate but when they are on holiday the other staff who come don't know me so well and seem to be in a hurry which I find unsettling.' Other people told us, 'Redspot is better than it used to be and my regular carer is smashing.' 'I'm quite satisfied overall with the way Redspot staff support me.' 'I'm more than happy with the service and the staff who support my relative now are very caring people.'

People using the service completed twice annual satisfaction surveys. If shortfalls or concerns were raised these would be taken on board and dealt with.

People's preferences, interests, aspirations and diverse needs had been recorded and care and support had been provided in accordance with people's wishes.

Is the service responsive?

People knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy. One person using the service told us, "I phoned the Redspot office once when I did not get on with the staff coming to me, they sent a different person after that.' Another person said, "I know I can complain if I want to, I have some guidelines at my home to tell me how to make a complaint but I have not needed to complain." A person using the service told us that they once made a complaint. They said that action was taken by the provider to their satisfaction. We found that people could be assured complaints would be investigated and action taken as necessary.

The service worked well with other agencies and services to try to make sure people received care in a coherent way.

Is the service well-led?

The service had a quality assurance system. Records showed that identified problems and opportunities to change things for the better had been taken note of and addressed. As a result the quality of the service was continuously improving.

Staff told us they were clear about their roles and responsibilities. Staff had a good understanding of the aims and ideals of the service. This helped to ensure that people received the support they needed.