We randomly selected twelve people who used this service to take part in telephone interviews, and 6 of those (or their relatives) agreed to take part. We asked them a variety of questions related to the service they received from Ark. People told us staff were respectful towards them, and asked their permission before they carried out care tasks. Comments included "Yes, they are wonderful" and "Yes, very respectful." We asked people specifically about the care they received from Ark Woking and the comments were all positive. We were told that people felt involved in their own care, and comments included "The care plan has been explained to me, and I either agree or disagree." However, when we checked care records, some shortfalls were noted. People said they felt safe in the hands of staff from Ark, and were satisfied with how their medicines were administered.
We found some more work was needed by the agency on monitoring the overall quality of the service, and responses on the quality of the service from people who used Ark Woking were mixed, though the majority were satisfied with the service which was described as "Pretty good" and "Excellent."
You can see our judgements on the front page of this report.