Archived: Social Care Reablement - St Michaels Also known as Domiciliary Care East Devon

At the time of the inspection 29 people were receiving a service. The service employed 25 staff.

We last inspected the service on the 24 January 2014. At that inspection we found the provider was meeting all of the regulations we inspected.

This inspection took place on 6 and 11 January 2017.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

Feedback from people using the service was positive and they were keen to tell us how they valued the service. People said they were safe using the service because it was reliable; staff were well trained and caring. There were sufficient numbers of staff employed to provide people with their planned service. People said they had never experienced a missed visit; that staff arrived when expected and visits were never rushed. There was an effective recruitment and selection process in place and the necessary relevant checks had been obtained before staff started to work alone.

People benefited from a service where staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities and they knew how to keep people safe from avoidable harm. Risks to individuals had been identified and there was guidance for staff on how to keep people safe. Staff supported people to be independent when managing their medicines. We have made a recommendation to ensure any medicines administered by staff are recorded accurately.

People were provided with the care and support they wanted by staff who had the knowledge and skills they needed. People’s right to make decisions for themselves was respected and staff sought consent when delivering care and support. People received support from staff who understood and responded to their health needs.

People were very happy with the care and support they received. People said staff were kind and caring and offered support which met their needs and promoted their independence. They said this enabled them to regain independence and control and to continue to live in their own home. Staff demonstrated a caring and respectful attitude towards people and knew people well and how they preferred their care and support to be delivered.

People were able to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care and the goals they set. Staff were friendly and approachable. They were also respectful of people’s dignity and privacy.

The service was well managed by the registered manager and their team. Regular audits and surveys were used to monitor the quality of the service. Feedback from people showed the service was valued and performing well.

At the time of this inspection, 27 people received a short term rehabilitation service from East Devon Domiciliary Care. Two further people with longer term needs were in the process of being transferred to another agency. We visited one person in their home and also spoke with six people on the telephone, including a relative. During our visit to the agency office we spoke with the registered manager, a team leader, and an acting team leader. We also spoke with a care worker on the telephone.

People told us they were very satisfied with the service and the attitude of the staff who they described as 'friendly' and 'kind'. They told us staff respected their privacy and dignity. People told us they had been involved in planning the support they needed, for example choosing goals that were important for them to achieve. People told us they were regaining their independence as a result of the support from the agency. Staff prompted people with medication, if needed, but the agency did not administer medication. People told us they received a reliable service. The service had a range of systems in place to seek people's views and to check the quality of the service.