Archived: Careline - The Agency For Care Staff

Many of the 30 people who use this service were unable to speak to us using the telephone. We spoke with four relatives of people who use the service and three members of care staff. We spoke with the manager as part of the inspection.

People said their relative's care needs were met by the service. They said the service was responsive to people's needs. One person said the service was "excellent."

Care planning involved external professionals, people who use the service and their representatives where appropriate. We saw external guidance had been used to provide staff with information on people's medical conditions.

Staff said they were not able to start working with people on their own until they completed the service's recruitment process. We saw all the appropropriate checks were completed before people began work. The service also provided staff with an induction before they could provide care.

People were aware of the complaints procedure and how they could contact the agency if necessary. The manager explained the complaints process and we saw information on complaints was provided to people when they began using the service. Complaints were logged, investigated and feedback was provided to people.

Care plans and management records were accurate and stored appropriately.

A relative told us care staff worked with health professionals to understand the needs of their relative and care for them effectively. Staff said they were made aware of the medical needs of people they cared for. We found staff worked with other health and social care professionals to ensure the care provided was appropriate. One person who used the service said "Staff understand care needs and are very cooperative."

Where staff administered medications they received appropriate training. However we found some arrangements in regards to assisting or prompting people to take medications did not include appropriate care planning, risk assessments or recording. Some staff who assisted or prompted the taking of medications had not received medication training.