25 April and 29 May 2012
During an inspection looking at part of the service
We saw a letter written by a relative in April 2012 which praised the staff for the 'kind and professional care of my elderly X'
We saw a letter written by a relative in April 2012 which praised the staff for the 'kind and professional care of my elderly X'
Just over half of the twenty seven respondents were 'very satisfied' with the care provided by the agency and the others ticked 'fairly satisfied.' People felt that care workers respected their privacy and dignity and helped them to remain as independent as they could.
We asked people what they thought the agency did well. Some of the comments included, 'If I need to contact the care agency my call is always answered quickly, be it during working hours or outside working hours. They nearly always find a replacement carer, even at short notice when the need arises. The regular carers are very reliable and carry out their duties efficiently. They always ensure that the bathroom and kitchen are left in a clean and tidy state. They make me feel that I am being looked after and this helps me to overcome various health problems'
'Very friendly and accommodating and the carer can always be contacted and she goes out of her way to help'
'The regulars couldn't be improved on all tasks thanks to very high standard'.
'I feel that the current carer copes with my X well and my X trusts her. I find her kind and patient. If she is on leave the stand-in is also very good'
We spoke to two representatives from the purchasing authority, the Royal Borough of Kingston. Both gave positive feedback about the agency and had no concerns at the time of our review. Comments included: 'I have always found Squirrels to be a very pro-active agency; the manager makes it her business to regularly visit all of her services users.'
We also asked people what they thought the agency could do better. Responses told us that some people thought staff cover at the weekends could be improved. Comments included, 'Weekdays are good, but at weekends the carers are often late and sometimes haven't turned so a phone call to the agency has to be made' and 'be more regular at weekends'.
'Need to have regular care staff assigned. On occasions for several days I can get different carers and that can make me agitated. I am more relaxed and responsive with someone I recognise'
Please refer to the outcomes within the main report for more detailed information about the service and other comments that people made.