- Homecare service
Short Term Assessment and Re-ablement Service
Assessment report published 2 May 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 9 February to 10 March 2026.
Short Term Assessment and Re-ablement Service (STARS) is a homecare agency providing care and support to people living in their own homes and flats. The service provides care to people following a stay in hospital or due to a change in care and support needs following an illness. Care is typically provided for up to 6 weeks.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. At the time of the assessment the service was supporting 64 people receiving personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene, eating and medication administration.
People’s care needs were assessed, and care plans provided staff with the information they needed to provide personalised care. Risk assessments were completed and provided staff with information they needed to manage identified risk. People and their families were involved in reviews of care and people were supported to achieve desired goals. The service worked well with other healthcare professionals and supported people to receive the care they needed.
Staff had safeguarding training and knew how to keep people safe and protect them from the risks of abuse.
The management team had excellent oversight of the service, completing audits, holding meetings and speaking regularly with staff. There was a strong culture of learning and development within the service and a desire to continuously improve.
Staff felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally. The management team were passionate about providing personalised, high quality care and were visible, knowledgeable and supportive.
Medicines were managed safely, by competent staff and a review of the medication administration records (MARs) was regularly conducted by the provider.
People's experience of this service
People spoke very positively about the care provided. They said they felt safe and that the service had had a positive impact on their lives. People were treated as individuals, with kindness and dignity and personalised care enabled them to reach their goals and gain skills and confidence. A person we spoke to said, STARS had, “A massive positive impact. Without them responding so quickly I would not have been able to function at all – clothing, washing, toileting – all of those things I need help with.”
Staff provided a high standard of care and did not rush through tasks. People felt confident in the abilities of the staff and said they had the necessary skills?. One person said, “They are well trained, they encourage but they know what they are doing.”
The service was well managed and provided valuable support. People were also assisted to access further care services where needed after their reablement period. One person told us, “STARS did a handover to the new agency because I still want some help in the morning. They did it all.”