All inspections: Avenues South East Services (ASES)

The inspection was carried out by two Inspectors, who spent five hours in the agency offices. During this time we talked with the manager and a variety of staff; viewed documentation, and met one of the people who received support from the service. During the afternoon we carried out two visits to people in their own homes, so that we could see how support was being provided for them. We also telephoned people receiving support, and relatives, to obtain their views of the support given by the agency.

We found that people spoke positively about the support they received. Comments included: 'My support workers do a good job'; 'I feel very safe and happy'; and 'I have complete confidence in all the staff.'

We saw that the agency had systems in place to discuss people's support with them, and to obtain their consent as to how care and support was given.

Care and treatment was provided in a way that met people's individual needs. People were assisted with their health care.

The agency liaised appropriately with other social and health care professionals to provide a smooth pathway of care and support.

We found that the agency had reliable systems in place for assisting people who needed help with their medication.

The agency had suitable recruitment procedures in place to check that staff were appropriate people to support vulnerable adults.

We saw that the agency obtained people's views at regular intervals, and used people's comments as a way of making ongoing improvements to the agency

We spoke with people who used the service and their relatives who told us that they were happy with the care that they received.

Staff told us that they understood the support that people needed and were trained to be able to deliver the support safely.

We looked at records that showed that each person had a care plan that was individual to them and gave information to staff about their level of need and how staff could best support them.

We arranged to speak with people who used the service and their relatives over the telephone. We were also able to speak with a person who used the service during our visit.

People told us that they were happy with care and support provided by the support staff who visited them. People described the care as, 'Absolutely fantastic' and 'Brilliant'.

People were complimentary about staff who visited them and said that staff would always make sure they helped them with everything they needed. Comments included 'Staff are very compassionate and professional' and 'Staff have fitted in like part of the family'.

People told us that they were visited by regular support staff who understood their needs. One person said 'I have a regular group of staff that visit me and we get to have a nice chat while they help me'.

People told us that they were involved in their care and support. One person said, 'We have been involved right from the word go. They have done a lot of work to make sure they understand exactly what we need'.

People praised the communication from the main office and said that the service was 'Very flexible' and, 'Accommodating' to their needs.

The people we spoke with told us that staff were nearly always on time and always stayed for the full amount of time. One person told us that, 'The girls always get to me for roughly the same time'.and if they are running late or there is an emergency the office will call to let me know'. Another person told us, 'Staff always stay the full amount of time and often go beyond what they need to do'.

Archived: Avenues South East Services (ASES)

All Inspections

6 February 2014

During a routine inspection

10 October 2012

During a routine inspection

23 November 2011

During a routine inspection