28 June 2012
During a themed inspection looking at Domiciliary Care Services
We spoke with 19 people who used the services. We used telephone interviews and visited people who use the service at their home. We also spoke with their main carers (a relative or friend) to gain views about the service.
People told us that the care workers treated them with respect and they felt their dignity was protected. People told us, 'They respect how you feel', 'When bathing they are gentle and careful' and 'They wait until I am in the privacy of my own room before helping with personal care.'
The majority of people felt their care and treatment was always delivered in line with their individual care plan. Comments included 'Carer does any tasks asked of her' and' Regular carers provide excellent care.' However we received some negative comments where staffing arrangements and missed calls affected the provision of care. These included 'Occasionally care workers have not turned up to make a meal' and 'Quite often only one carer comes and then my relative has to help the carer to move me.'
People we spoke with told us that they felt safe when care workers visited them. One person said 'I feel safe and I like the carer.' Comments about the care workers included 'Carers are very, very good, excellent' and 'Very, very nice girls, very helpful. I would recommend them to anybody.'
People we spoke with said that they were asked for their views about their care and treatment and their feedback was listened to and acted upon. One person told us 'They came to see me three weeks ago to see if I was ok.' We received a number of negative comments about how the agency managed feedback and complaints. Comments included 'When I rang office to tell them about ', it made no difference and it happened again', 'Following complaints, the service might improve for a short time but is soon back to being unreliable and erratic" and 'I raised issues on a number of occasions but nothing much has changed.'