20 January and 9 February 2011
During a routine inspection
People spoke highly of staff members and said that recently, consistency had improved so that they received their support from staff they knew well.
Some concerns were raised by service users about staffing levels. Several people commented that in the past, they had experienced disruption to daily plans and activities because staff support had not been available.
People told us that they felt able to express opinions and voice any concerns they had, although not all the service users we spoke with felt managers had always taken action in response to their concerns.
We spoke with a relative who was present at the time of our visit. She told us that she felt confident that her family member was receiving a good standard of support and spoke highly of staff. She told us that she found the support staff very kind and supportive and that she was always made to feel welcome when visiting.
During the review we consulted a number of professionals, including social workers of people using the service and people who monitor standards on behalf of local commissioners. In general, the feedback was positive and several people told us that they found managers at the service to be very cooperative and helpful. Another comment made frequently was that managers were very open, transparent and receptive to comments about the service.
As part of the review we consulted several staff members who told us that they had experienced lots of changes in the way the service was managed and that this has been quite unsettling. However, they told us that they felt communication between themselves and managers was improving and several people said they were looking forward to various new systems being implemented.
The comments we received regarding staffing levels from service users were echoed by staff members who told us that they had at times, felt concerned that service users had been let down with social activities for instance, because staff support had not been available. However, they were aware that managers were taking action to address this problem.