Archived: Angels Care Wirral Ltd

People who used the service and their relatives said they were happy with the care received and were involved in care planning. They said they were able to make decisions and understood the care they received. They said "I know what's going on and I decide when and how"; "The carers are like friends"; "We are involved in what goes on" and "It's excellent - a wonderful service".

New documentation had been initiated following our previous inspection and each person's assessments and care records were informative and reflected the care they received. People and their relatives were involved in care planning and there were procedures in place to obtain consent. The agency had introduced a system to obtain people's views about the services offered and were in the process of collecting information which would be used to monitor and improve the service.

Staff we spoke with said they were happy working at the agency and felt they were supported and trained appropriately to carry out their duties. One person said "All the staff are very good and know what they are doing".

'I am very happy with the support I receive the manager contacts me and I contact her. I find all the staff including the manager very approachable.'

'The manager rings regularly and I am confident if I had a problem she would sort it out.'

People who used the service were given detailed information about the level of care and support to be offered including a breakdown of the hourly costs.

We looked at four care records and found people had care plans and risk assessments in place. However assessment information was not recorded and some healthcare information had not been documented in care plans.

We spoke with two care workers who told us they had received training in safeguarding and described how they would ensure the welfare of vulnerable people was protected through the whistle blowing and safeguarding procedures.

The manager told us new care workers shadowed experienced staff until they were considered competent to work alone. This was confirmed by care workers spoken with and a relative of a person who used the service.

There were no formal systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided. The meant the service was unable to formally identify what they did well and what needed to be improved.