- Homecare service
Contact Cares Reablement Team
Assessment report published 23 June 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
About the service
Contact Cares Reablement Team is a care at home agency focusing on a rapid response and reablement service supporting adults in the community to remain at home, avoid unnecessary hospital admission and regain independence wherever possible.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates the personal care and support that people may receive. 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.
The service provided short‑term, time‑limited support, with clear pathways into ongoing care when reablement outcomes could not be achieved. At the time of our inspection 34 people were receiving support.
Who the service is for
This service is registered to support older adults, younger adults, people with dementia, physical and sensory disabilities and mental health conditions.
Our view of the service
We carried out this inspection on 21 May 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this inspection to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. We found that staff and management worked within the principles of the MCA. DoLS authorisations were appropriately applied for and overseen. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions they had choice, control and freedom over their lives.
People consistently told us they felt safe and well supported by kind, patient and respectful staff who understood reablement principles and encouraged independence rather than dependence. People and relatives spoke positively about staff reliability, continuity and communication, and described care as dignified, empowering and responsive to changing needs. Staff demonstrated good awareness of safeguarding, consent and risk and were confident to raise concerns, supported by approachable and visible leaders.
Systems were in place to assess needs, manage risks and monitor quality, and these were generally used effectively. Care was delivered in line with people’s recovery goals and evidence showed positive outcomes, including reduced support and independence achieved at the right time. Medicines were mostly self‑managed or supported by families, and where staff were involved, practice was safe; however, some documentation around risk assessments lacked some sufficient detail and consistency. We fed this back at the time of our inspection.
Governance arrangements, audits and incident monitoring were established and leaders took action when issues were identified. Overall, the service was well led, with a positive, open culture, strong teamwork and a clear focus on person‑centred reablement, and leaders demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement.
People's experience of this service
People consistently told us they had a very positive experience of support from the service and felt staff were kind, respectful and focused on helping them regain independence. People described feeling safe, listened to and well supported in their own homes.
People spoke warmly about staff attitudes and the quality of relationships they developed. One relative told us, “Care staff are really good, dad is happy with them, they have been a God send, amazing.” Another person said, “Everyone was very nice, no complaints, lovely, chatty, love them.” People frequently described staff as “lovely,” “kind,” “caring,” and “patient,” and said they were treated with dignity at all times.
People felt staff supported them to feel safe and confident. One person told us, “I know them, feel safe and would definitely recommend,” while another said, “They treat me nicely, very dignified, they made me feel really comfortable.” Several people said they would recommend the service, comments included, “Would recommend the service 10/10” and “Don’t know what we would have done without them.”
A strong theme from people’s feedback was the reablement focus on independence. People told us staff encouraged them to do as much as they could for themselves. One person said, “They come every day, I am now learning my own meds, they are helping me, I did the task myself, they are so patient.” Another told us, “I like to try and do as much for myself as possible, the staff are very helpful.” People valued this approach and said it helped build confidence.
People also spoke positively about communication. People told us staff explained what they were doing and kept them informed, with 1 person saying, “Communication was very good,” and another stating, “No issues with communication, feel safe and they [staff] are very helpful.” Relatives said they felt reassured by staff and confident raising any questions or concerns.
Overall, people described the service as supportive, caring and empowering. Many said they would miss the staff when the service ended, with 1 person telling us, “I like them all and I am going to miss them all.” The feedback reflected a positive, respectful service where people felt valued, supported and encouraged to regain independence.