5 February 2014
During a routine inspection
We arranged to visit at short notice according to our methodology for inspecting domiciliary care agencies. This meant we were able to meet the registered manager and the registered person in the service office. Staff had also been able to bring in care records from people's homes for us to review.
The domiciliary care service shared the large office with a related training company and we met staff involved in the training company during the inspection. We do not regulate training companies and therefore no aspect of the training organisation was inspected.
The registered manager of the service supplied us with all the information and records we asked for. They were very knowledgeable about the people who were using the service and the staff who were providing the care.
At the time of our inspection Butterfields Homecare Services provided personal care to twelve people. Other people received a domestic or shopping service which we do not regulate. We spoke with three people who used the service. Two relatives gave us their view of the care two other people received. We also contacted one social care professional.
We spoke with five members of the care team and looked at four care plans. We also looked at five recruitment records and some staff rotas.
People praised their regular carers and said they were considerate and respectful. One person said; 'We are very happy. We have no complaints. No complaints at all.' A relative told us 'It is going very well indeed. We are all very pleased with the current arrangements.'
People told us carers arrived at their scheduled time and stayed for the full length of time specified in their care plan. Everyone we spoke with commented on the reliability and flexibility of staff. One person said 'I know who is coming and they work with me to accommodate my needs.'
The provider had systems in place to ensure they had the correct number of staff to meet people's needs.
We found the agency operated a system of recruitment which was designed to employ staff who were suitable for their post and safe to care for people in the home.