Archived: Call Us

At the time of our inspection the service was supporting approximately 70 people. However, there were only five people who were receiving services under the regulated activity personal care. The people were adults who had a range of needs such as learning disability, physical disability, sensory impairment and mental health.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

The provider had limited processes to assess and monitor the quality of the service that people received. Additionally feedback the service had formally gained from people, their families and health and social care professionals had not been fully evaluated to enable the service to identify trends and/or areas for improvement. We have made a recommendation about best practice in quality assurance and monitoring processes.

People’s families who spoke with us on behalf of their relatives told us that they felt their relative was safe with staff and that they would be confident to raise any concerns they had. The provider’s recruitment procedures were robust. There were sufficient staff to provide safe, effective care at the times agreed by the people who were using the service.

There were procedures in place to manage risks to people and staff. Staff were aware of how to deal with emergency situations and knew how to keep people safe by reporting concerns promptly through processes that they understood well.

Staff received an induction and were supported to receive the training and development they needed to care for and support people’s individual needs.

People's families and professionals who were involved in their care were complementary of the services Call Us provided. The comments we received demonstrated that people were valued by the service and were listened to. People were treated with kindness and respect whilst their independence was promoted within their homes and the community.

People’s needs were reviewed regularly and their care and support plans promoted person-centred care. Staff knew how to contact healthcare professionals in a timely manner if there were concerns about a person’s wellbeing.

People we spoke with praised the service and the quality of care and support provided. One person we spoke with told us 'they always go over and above what they are supposed to do. I have never met anyone as outstanding with the care they provide'. Another person told us 'I couldn't be without them'.

People's health, safety and welfare were protected when one or more provider was involved in their care and treatment. This was because the provider worked in co-operation with others. We spoke with the office manager who explained how they worked alongside other professionals such as care managers and education to ensure that consistent care was received by people using the service.

Appropriate recruitment checks were carried out and recorded. New staff members completed an induction and attended core skills training. Staff we spoke with told us that they had been through an application and interview process before starting in their role.

The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received. We saw the results of a recent satisfaction questionnaire that had been sent to people using the service, their family members and other professional agencies. Overall we saw that people were satisfied with the service they received.

One person we spoke with told us they like the staff and that they choose what they want to do when going out.

The people we spoke with said that staff were always on time and stayed for the right amount of time. One person told us about staff being flexible and how by being so had ensured a family outing went ahead. People told us that they felt confident in the workers providing care and could discuss any concerns or changes needed with them.

Relatives we spoke with told us that if they made a complaint they felt it would be listened to and action would be taken.

Staff told us that they followed the support plans which they felt contained adequate information. We found the support plans to be clear and well organised with information easily accessible. We saw that these plans were regularly updated.

Staff we spoke with told us that they felt supported and that they had access to training opportunities to ensure people were cared for by trained and experienced staff. We heard from staff that they enjoyed working for Call Us.