We carried out a themed inspection looking at domiciliary care services. We asked people to tell us what it was like to receive services from this home care agency as part of a targeted inspection programme of domiciliary care agencies with particular regard to how people's dignity was upheld, and how they can make choices about their care. The inspection team was led by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector joined by an
Expert by Experience who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service.
We used postal surveys, telephone interviews and home visits to people who use the service and to their main carers (a relative or friend) to gain views about the service. Overall we spoke to 10 people and received 14 completed questionnaires from service users and carers. We visited the office to look at records and talk to the person in charge. We also talked to four members of staff.
People using the service said care workers always treated them with respect and called them by their preferred name. One person said, "They are very respectful and treat me well". Another said, "They (the care workers) are definitely very respectful and carry out personal care properly".
People also told us they felt they had sufficient choices in the care provided. They had
been involved in the setting up of their care, and had been offered choices in the times of the visits and flexibility in the support given according to need. People had also been given information about the agency and generally knew what to do if there were problems or changes to be made to their service. Some people we spoke with recalled completing a questionnaire as part of the agency's own quality monitoring system.
Overall people using the service told us they were satisfied with the service. One person said, "I can't fault it up to now". Another said, "The carer who came today is really super". One relative said, "No problems whatsoever; no complaints". People also told us the service was reliable and with good continuity and consistency of care with a group of care workers who were known to them. One person said, "I have three or four regular carers and they are all marvellous". A relative said, 'She (the service user) has three different care workers.They all give excellent service and are helpful".
However one person who completed a questionnaire was not satisfied with the service and complained of missed calls, mistakes and frequent changes of carers. This was discussed with the manager and we saw that these problems were already being resolved through undertaking a review of the service and working with social services.
Staff spoken with told us they felt properly trained and supported. One said, "The manager had always been supportive and open to suggestions". Staff also said communication within the agency was good and that there was an 'open door' attitude to staff contact and support. However one person using the service we spoke with said they felt new staff who attended did not at first always have the right skills, but that this had improved following making a complaint.