16 October 2013
During a routine inspection
We inspected Fourways Community Care at short notice on 16 October 2013. We spoke with the provider, manager and staff during our visit to the agency office. We visited two people, with their consent, who used the service in their own homes accompanied by care staff and also spoke with their relatives. We spoke with three other people and their families who used the service over the telephone and also with four members of staff.
Fourways has operated as a private community service since 2010. The service has grown to provide a service to 59 people who live in the Sidmouth area. People told us that 'Fourways' was 'a very good company' and ' If you have good people you get a good service'. Everyone we spoke with said the staff were well trained, and always pleasant and friendly. Where people had raised a concern about the service, they said it was always promptly dealt with. One person said 'when I had a worry changes were made and I never felt awkward'.
We were told by people who used the service that they had been fully involved in the discussion about the care and support they required prior to the service starting. Care and support was personalised and took into account individual preferences and choices. Staff were observed to notice where something extra might be needed, for example in cleaning a person's reading glasses and offering a cup of tea before leaving the house. One person said 'they do all the little things for me that help me cope and keeps me living in my home'. We found there was an emphasis on providing a flexible personal service which ensured people received exactly what they needed.
People were encouraged to raise any issues of concern and were confident that they would be listened to with appropriate changes made to the service. We saw evidence that people were treated in respectful, dignified ways which reflected their personal needs.
Staff were recruited through a thorough selection process, written references and all required documentation was seen in the files examined. There was an emphasis on providing quality training for staff both at the initial stages of their employment and also on an on-going basis.
The provider told us that the company was keen to grow its service but only when the time was right. Quality of care was at the core of the agency's service. A compliments file was examined, which contained a number of letters of commendation about the service. The most recent read, 'thank you for your kindness and help, without you our lives would have been even more difficult and we relied on you to bring the world into our home'.