Archived: Housing 21 - Barnet

We spoke with people who use the service and relatives on the telephone and received feedback from others on survey forms. They told us they were satisfied with the care provided. For example, people told us the service was 'very good' and 'marvellous.' Staff were described as 'very nice people', 'always polite and friendly' and 'all of them are fantastic'. A typical comment we received from one person was 'the service has been absolutely brilliant, I couldn't fault them.'

The service checked to see that new staff were suitably qualified to provide care to people in their homes before they started work. The manager worked cooperatively with other services and health professionals to ensure that appropriate care was planned and delivered. Systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.

Staff had the knowledge and skills needed to protect people from abuse. The provider regularly monitored the service to make sure that risks to people were minimised and an appropriate standard of care and treatment provided.

Staff received appropriate training to enable them to deliver the care to people that they needed. However, although there was a policy in place to ensure that staff received regular individual supervision from a manager, most staff had not received the level of supervision required by the provider. There was a risk that staff were not adequately supported to deliver care to people safely.