Archived: Maidstone

The inspection included making telephone calls to people who were using the service or their relatives. These were made by Inspectors and by an expert by experience, and enabled people to directly inform us about their views of the agency.

We found that people generally spoke very positively about the agency, and said they were happy with the care they received. Some of their comments included: 'The care workers are very patient'; 'They ask what I want, they're very careful, very kind'; 'They are always kind and understanding'; 'I am really happy with all the girls'; and 'I have the same carers, they arrive on time, and they are very good with all they do.'

We found that the agency had suitable processes in place to assess people, and ensure that the agency would be able to meet their care needs.

People told us they were involved in their care planning; and were asked for their consent to show they agreed with the care and treatment identified.

We found that the agency had safe systems in place for care staff to provide assistance to people with their medication.

Staff training records showed that staff kept up to date with all required training; and staff that we spoke to were very motivated in providing care.

The agency enabled people to share their views on a regular basis, and their comments were taken on board as part of the monitoring processes.

We obtained people's views from reading their responses to telephone interviews and quality reviews carried out in their own homes.

We saw that answers on review forms were mostly ticked positively, with a mark of 3 for good, or 4 for excellent. People's comments included: 'The care workers are always very respectful'; 'The care staff are very helpful'; and 'We can raise any issues with the care staff and know that they will get dealt with.'