Archived: Carewatch (Christchurch)

People told us they felt they were treated with respect and dignity by the visiting care workers and spoke highly of the service. One person said, "They are very good, very caring, I look forward to them coming - don't know what I'd do without them."

People told us that the care workers were generally punctual and that they were very satisfied with their care. People using the service told us they were involved in their plan of care.

People said that the service delivered care according to their care plan. For example, a relative told us that carers visited twice a day to provide personal care and that the care plan was always followed.

One person we spoke with said "I have no concerns whatsoever; they are all very good in what they do". Another person told us "I was very apprehensive before I started using the agency as I have never had help before, now I would not be without any of them".

People using the service told us they felt the agency did a good job in ensuring the quality of the service was maintained. For example one person told us that the care supervisors attended their home from time to time to check that the care workers were working well.

People told us that they received the same team of care workers and they were rarely or never late. One relative said, 'The manager from the office visits to check everything is okay". They also said they had "no concerns" about the service provided.

People said they felt safe and we found that care workers had taken appropriate action if needed if a vulnerable person was at risk of possible abuse.

Staff were recruited in a safe manner, with appropriate checks being carried out to check their suitability to work with vulnerable people. The agency provided induction and ongoing training, to ensure care workers were competent.

The agency had an effective quality assurance system to gather people's views on the service provided. We found that risks to people's health and welfare had been identified and acted upon.

Records required for the operation of the agency were kept securely and safely. We found all records were up to date and accurate.