Archived: Carlisle Community Services

' Is the service caring?

' Is the service responsive?

' Is the service safe?

' Is the service effective?

' Is the service well led?

This is a summary of what we found-

Is the service safe?

We spoke to 25% of the people who used the service and they all told us they felt safe with the support workers and that they could contact the office if anything concerned them.

We discovered that staff had all received safeguarding training and they understood how to protect people from harm and abuse.

We had evidence that showed the provider only took on new staff after they had made sure they were suitable to work with vulnerable adults.

Is the service effective?

We had evidence that showed that the staff team worked with other professionals to develop good care plans that helped people receive effective support. We asked people about the effects of the support.

One person told us:

"If I ever have a problem I just ring the office and they deal with it. If they don't know they find out and phone me back."

Other people told us that the support they received had helped in their recovery. One person told us that they had lived in a residential home but with support from the Croftlands Trust and other professionals they were now living more independently.

"I am improving all the time...partly because of my psychiatrist but also the support I get from Croftlands."

Is the service caring?

Several people told us:

"The staff are all very nice...polite and caring."

"I look forward to them coming."

We had evidence to show that staff were suitably recruited, inducted and supervised to ensure that they interacted with vulnerable people in a caring way. We saw well written care plans that focussed on individual needs. People told us that they took part in planning for their care.

Is the service responsive?

We saw in care plans and daily notes that any concerns or worries were dealt with appropriately. Staff told us they tried to help people with any worries. People told us that they felt that:

"The office people and the staff respond to anything I need...it might mean I see my psychiatrist but if it is something they can help with they do it right away...couldn't be better."

"I have had them support me for years and anything I need they help with. I can phone the office and I can talk to the people at the headquarters and they help me too."

One person told us:

"I don't like change much and they know this and try to give me the same support workers."

Is the service well-led?

The people we spoke to were happy with the manager and other senior staff and were positive about the Croftlands Trust. One person told us:

"I think the whole set up has helped me...staff are properly managed and trained and they understand mental health needs."

We found that there were good systems in place to monitor quality and that the Croftlands Trust had worked hard to make sure that all the systems benefitted the people who used the service.

The service was managed by an experienced and knowledgeable registered manager who had good levels of support from senior managers. We learned that the organisation had an active quality monitoring system and that managers were supported by a training department and by their Human Resources department.

"It is really good...the staff are great."

We found that people were generally satisfied with the way they were supported by the service.

We had evidence to show that all staff in the service had received training in the protection of vulnerable adults. Suitable checks were in place to ensure that staff were the right kind of people to care for the service users and the provider had up to date policies and procedures that would keep people safe from harm.

Staff had received supervision and training to support them in their role. A new system of personal development had been commenced and staff we spoke with felt they now received good levels of support.

All of these improvements came about after we had found some areas of non-compliance when we visited in April 2013. We judged that the service had made some far reaching and in-depth changes since then that ensured continuing support to vulnerable people.

When we visited we looked at a range of records and we saw that the storage and completion of records was much improved since we last visited some seven weeks before. We saw that service user records, staff files and records relating to staff training and deployment were orderly and easy to access and follow.

" I look forward to them coming...it makes my day."

We were given positive comments from people about staff attitude and approach but we discovered that the delivery of care was not organised and that at times staff were unsure of how to manage the support they had to give. Care plans and risk assessments were not robust enough to support the work of the staff.

Not all staff had received appropriate training to help them protect vulnerable people from harm and abuse. We found some instances where alleged abuse had not been dealt with correctly.

We spoke to staff and they wanted more training and supervision to help them with their work. One person told us:

"I need more training on care planning and on using the electronic netbooks. We have gone through so much change, we don't have enough staff and there has been no time for training."

Training records showed gaps in mandatory and specialised staff training.

We found that there had been little quality monitoring of the service and although the company knew that there were problems they had not completed a quality audit.

Records management was disorganised and the new electronic system was not being used as well as it could be. Staff told us:

"The new netbooks will be Ok but they are not connected to the internet, relief staff don't have their own and the system has had problems".