Archived: Building Bridges Home Support Services

We spoke with two care workers who told us the information recorded in peoples care plans helped them to provide support for people on an individual basis. Two care staff told us they had been provided with appropriate training and had undertaken safeguarding training within the last six months and were able to tell us how they would recognise different types of abuse and what their duties and responsibilities were with regards to safeguarding vulnerable adults.

We were told each person who used the service was helped to manage their own health, welfare, and safety, in a 'health action plan'. We looked at three files that contained doctors, dentist, opticians, and occupational therapists contact details and appointment schedules. People who used the service told us there was sufficient staff on duty to meet their care needs. One person told us, 'I know who is on duty each day and I can always ask them to help me.'

We arranged to speak with people who used the service and their relatives over the telephone. They told us that they were happy with the care and support that was provided by the service. Comments included 'Staff help me with what I want, they help me with cooking and shopping' and 'We are getting on really well with this service.'

People told us that they were mostly visited by regular care staff who understood their needs. They told us that staff were 'Professional' 'Caring' and 'Helpful'. One person said 'Staff make sure everything is alright for me'.

We found that relatives and people who used the service had been kept involved in their care. One relative told us 'They have worked with us well; the manager spent a lot of time with us at the start to make sure they understood what we needed. They keep us updated and we regularly attend the care reviews with our relative.'

We saw that staff had completed mandatory training to help them deliver safe and appropriate care. However we found that staff were not always being supported to attend training updates that were being requested by the service to help maintain this.