Archived: Haringey

We found that people were listened to and had their views taken into account. Care plans we looked at showed that people's preferences were incorporated into the planning of their care and the provider made an effort to match people with appropriate care workers, taking into account their preferences and, where possible, their cultural and linguistic needs.

We checked eight care plans and risk assessments and found that most were comprehensive and kept up to date. We saw that reviews of care took place regularly and that people were provided with care which was responsive to their needs.

Most staff we spoke with told us that they felt supported by the provider and the management. We saw that staff had opportunities to receive ongoing training in relevant areas. People told us that they felt safe with the care workers provided.

We saw that the provider had systems to audit the quality of the care that was provided by offering people and their families opportunities to feed back through a regular survey and through spot checks. We saw that complaints were followed up.

We spoke with eight people who either used the service or were relatives of people who used the service. People told us that they or their relatives received continuity of care and that people were regularly cared for by the same small number of care staff. Several people told us that they couldn't praise care staff highly enough.

One person said care staff were 'very polite, helpful and willing'. Another person who used the service said I am 'happy with the service, they are very good, they turn up on time'. A relative of someone who used the service told us that they'd had a meeting with a care supervisor and they said that they 'took on board everything we said, and tried to implement those things'.

We spoke with seven care staff we had identified who provided care to people with a range of complexity of needs. We found that care staff knew the needs of people who used the service that we had identified through their care plan records. Care staff also knew people's preferences and demonstrated that they supported people's choices. We found that care staff worked to promote and support people's independence.