The Care Quality Commission

Archived: Community Response Team New Forest West

The Portacabin, West Shore House, Hythe, Southampton, Hampshire, SO45 6AA (023) 8087 7731

Provided and run by:
Hampshire County Council

All Inspections

27 June and 3 July 2013

During a routine inspection

In this report the name of a Registered Manager appears who was not in post and not managing the regulatory activities at this location at the time of the inspection. Their name appears because they were still Registered Manager on our register at the time of this inspection. We have advised the provider of what they need to do to remove the individual's name from our register.

We spoke with 10 people who used the service, including visiting four people in their own homes accompanied by a senior member of the care staff. We spoke with the manager and with three other members of staff. We saw that accurate and appropriate records were maintained and that suitable arrangements were in place for supporting people with medicines. There were effective staff recruitment and selection processes.

All of the people who we spoke with gave positive feedback about the care they received. One person said: 'They are very efficient and very caring. I think they're absolutely fantastic, hardworking and kind'. Another person told us: 'I can't speak highly enough of them. When I came out of hospital I was very low. Within an hour, they made me feel alright'. People were complimentary about the staff. One person told us: 'They all seem to be quite skilled and know what to do'. Another person said: 'The carers are terrific. I have absolute confidence in them'.

25, 29 May 2012

During a themed inspection looking at Domiciliary Care Services

We carried out a themed inspection looking at domiciliary care services. We asked people to tell us what it was like to receive services from this home care agency as part of a targeted inspection programme of domiciliary care agencies with particular regard to how people's dignity was upheld and how they can make choices about their care. The inspection team was led by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector joined by an 'expert by experience'. An expert by experience is someone who has experience of using services and who can provide that perspective.

We used telephone interviews and home visits to people who use the service and to their main carers (relatives or friends) to gain views about the service.

We visited three people in their own home as part of this review and spoke with them and their relatives about their experiences of the support they were receiving. We spoke with two senior staff and a care worker at the time of our visit to the office and also spoke with four care workers during and after the home visits. We spoke with 16 people who received a service from this agency over the telephone.

Everyone we spoke with gave positive feedback about the service and said that it was meeting their needs and encouraged their independence. They described the care workers as professional, caring, polite, respectful, friendly and supportive. People were well informed about the agency and were consulted about the care they were receiving. They told us that they felt safe using the service and knew what to do if they had any concerns. They said that the agency responded promptly to any questions they asked. The people we spoke with felt that staff were well trained and understood their needs.

One person said 'the job was done very well with respect and kindness'. Another person told us that 'the caring was exceptional'. These comments reflected the overall feedback we received from people using the service.