Archived: Marion Lauder House

Is the service safe?

Is the service caring?

Is the service effective?

Is the service responsive?

Is the service well led?

On the day of our visit the manager was on leave. We spoke with two people who used the service and obtained feedback from five others via questionnaires which were available to us on the day of our visit. We obtained feedback from four relatives, one care staff and members of the office staff team. We also spoke with the provider and looked at records. Below is a summary of what we found.

Is the service caring?

Most of the feedback we received was positive about the care and support provided by Careconcept Homecare. We were told by people using the service that the care staff were excellent and engaged with them to ensure that their needs and wishes were met. Some comments included; "The carers are excellent and they work well with me", and "they understand what I need".

The staff we spoke with were enthusiastic and positive about their role. They spoke about the people they supported in a positive way and we observed staff in the office speaking to people respectfully and patiently over the telephone with any concerns or queries they had.

We received feedback from relatives which confirmed they were happy with the care and support provided. One person said; 'the staff are excellent and my (relative) is very happy with them.'

Is the service safe?

We saw that people were treated with respect and dignity by the staff. The people we spoke with who used the service told us that staff supported them in the way they had agreed.

We saw that the service had systems in place to identify and respond to allegations of abuse. The staff we spoke with were knowledgeable of these and aware of the actions to take if they had concerns for a person's safety. Systems were in place to make sure that the service sought people's feedback and that risks were identified and managed.

Is the service responsive?

The service had systems in place to ensure that people were regularly consulted about their views and ideas on how the service should be run. This was done by means of regular discussion with people, individual meetings and questionnaires. We saw quality assurance systems were in place and if improvements were identified, these were actioned as appropriate and staff and people using the service were informed of any changes required.

Is the service effective?

We saw that people who received care and support from Careconcepts Homecare had a care record that included assessments of their individual needs and risks. The care plan had been developed to meet those assessed needs. The assessments and care plans were reviewed on an annual basis, or earlier if required. People we spoke with told us their care was excellent and they trusted the care staff to deliver personal care in a respectful and dignified way.

We saw care records outlined some calls were time critical due to health needs and medication. People we spoke with however told us staff were often late which affected their medication routine and left them feeling frustrated.

We saw that relatives were encouraged to be involved in the person's care and treatment, if their family member consented to this. We saw reviews had been carried out with involvement from family members and changes to care needs were discussed recorded and actioned.

Is the service well led?

For the areas we looked at during this inspection visit we saw that staff had received appropriate training to ensure they had the knowledge, skills and experience to meet the assessed needs of people receiving care and support. This meant that people who received support from Careconcepts could be confident that their needs were being met by fully trained staff.

There was a new manager in post and staff spoke highly of the support they received from the manager and the senior management team. They told us they received regular supervision and training. They also told us they had regular staff meetings and if they had any problem they would go straight to any member of the management team as they were available and approachable. We spoke with people who used the service who told us they had no concerns in this area.

There were good systems in place to monitor and audit service delivery. We saw these audits were analysed and improvements needed were shared with staff and people who used the service via a newsletter. We found there was strong leadership present across the service.

The relatives we spoke with said they were very happy with the service provided and fully involved in developing the plan of care provided to their relative. One person told us, "I was fully involved in getting things up and running. We met with the staff and told them about my relative and how they needed to be looked after. My relative wasn't involved in the meeting due to their dementia so we acted on their behalf." Another person said, "I'm very happy with the girls, they are all very good. They know my relative's needs very well. We discuss things together which is good."

Staff were trained on how to protect people from abuse and harm. This meant they had information on how to identify and take action on how to prevent abuse from happening. Staff spoken with demonstrated an understanding of different types of abuse and the signs to look out for. They knew to report any signs or the suspicion of abuse to a senior member of staff to ensure people's safety and welfare was promoted.

Staff recruitment files were well organised and stored securely to ensure staff confidentiality. Records indicated that relevant checks had been carried out on all staff before they began working at the agency. This meant the provider had taken steps to ensure suitable staff were employed.

Relatives of the people who used the service told us they had been given information about how to make a complaint. None of the people who used the service or their relatives had any complaints to raise at the time of the inspection. One person told us, "I've never had a problem with this agency, if I did, I would just get on to the manager." Another person said, "If I have a problem, I just speak with the staff and they get things sorted."