The Halewood Centre

Knowsley Reablement Service provides people with care, support and re-ablement within their own home. The service is provided, together with other health care professionals for a short period of time to enable people to maintain or regain their independence. Thirty four people were using the service at the time of this inspection.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People's needs and wishes were assessed and planned for. Care plans identified the intended outcomes for people and how their needs were to be met. People received care and support from staff who had received training for their role. People received the support from health care professionals and services as part of their re-ablement plan.

People were protected from abuse and the risk of abuse and staff understood their role in relation to this. People and their family members told us that the service was safe. Risks to people and others were identified and measures put in place to minimise harm. Good infection control procedures were in place.

Staff got to know people well and were knowledgeable about individual's needs and how they were to be met. People and their family members knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint about the service. People were treated with kindness by staff. Staff provided care and support with positive outcomes for

people.

The service worked with other agencies to plan for and deliver the changing needs of people living within the borough of Knowsley. Links to community groups were in place to promote positive social wellbeing for people at risk from social isolation.

Systems for assessing and monitoring the quality and safety of the service were effective in identifying areas of improvement within the service. People and their family members spoke positively about the service they received and the staff supporting them. Systems were in place to gather people's views on the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 21 November 2016).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Knowsley Reablement Service provides short term, time-limited personal care and support to people living in their own homes. The focus of the service is to enable people to maximise their potential to manage their own care without further support, or with minimal assistance. If at the end of the service a person still required assistance, their care would be transferred to a more permanent provider of the person’s choice. At the time of the inspection there were 57 people using the service.

A registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People said they felt safe when using the service and that staff paid good attention to their safety, for example, when using equipment to help with their independence. People were protected from potential harm because staff knew how to recognise abuse and were aware and confident about the processes for reporting any concerns they had.

No new staff had been employed to work at the service since our last inspection however there were processes in place to ensure the safe recruitment of staff. The registered manager described the process which they would follow for recruiting new staff and it was in line with the registered provider’s robust procedures.

People’s needs had been assessed and planned for with their involvement and where appropriate the involvement of significant others. The plans instructed staff on how to meet people’s needs in a way that people preferred. Support plans included guidance for staff about how to manage any hazards which posed a risk to people’s safety.

People were provided with individualised care and support that was tailored to meet their needs. Staff responded to changes in people’s needs and they provided flexible support to make sure people achieved their goals.

Staff received the training and support they needed for their roles and responsibilities. Staff had been provided with relevant training and they underwent refresher training in a range of topics. Staff attended regular supervision meetings and team meetings which enabled them to discuss their work, training and development needs and receive updates regarding the service.

People and their family members told us that staff had always been respectful, kind and caring towards them. People also told us that they were very happy with the service they received and that they had been given choices regarding how and when support was given.

The registered provider had a complaints procedure which they made available to people who used the service and their family members. People were confident about complaining should they need to.

Staff had access to a detailed set of policies and procedures which provided them with information and guidance essential to their work. The policies and procedures were reviewed and updated regularly to ensure they included relevant and up to date information about current legislation and safe and effective working practice.

Systems were in place to regularly check on the quality of the service and ensure improvements were made. These included regular audits on areas of practice and seeking people’s views about the quality of the service. Developments were made to the service in response to people’s views and to changes in practice guidance.

Those using the service told us that their needs were being met by a kind and caring staff team. They said that they were involved in the planning of their own care and that the staff supporting them were competent in their duties.

Comments received from those using the service and their relatives included:

"I am more than happy with the service. They (the staff) are excellent."

"I have no complaints at all. The girls who come to see me are all so happy and cheerful. They brighten my day."

"This service is fantastic. I will be so sorry when I have to finish."

We looked at how people were involved in the care and support they received and how their needs were being met. We also assessed areas relating to staff support, how complaints were being managed and how the quality of service provided was being monitored. We did not find any concerns in any of the outcome areas we assessed on this occasion.