Archived: Hambleton South Reablement Service

Hambleton South Reablement Services is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats to predominantly older people through a short-term assessment and reablement program. This offers short-term support to help people regain their independence after an accident or ill health, or to help those with a disability remain independent. At the time of this inspection, 12 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People felt safe and described the staff as kind and caring in their approach. The registered manager followed robust recruitment checks, to employ suitable staff, and there were sufficient staff employed. Staff had the skills and knowledge needed to provide the appropriate support to people.

Where required people received support from staff to manage their medicines and prepare meals. The level of support required was recorded.

People had choice and control of their lives and the staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The service focused on enabling people to regain their independence. Care records in place were person-centred and focused on progress people were making towards independence.

Staff worked collaboratively with other professionals to ensure people had access to mobility aid, support and guidance they needed.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided. Staff felt valued, supported and included in discussions about how to further develop the service. Feedback was requested to ensure people were satisfied with the service provided.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 6 July 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

This inspection took place on 15 May 2017 and was announced.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The registered provider is required to have a registered manager, but at the time of our inspection the manager in post was not registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). However, there was a manager in post who had submitted an application to be registered with CQC. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Staff understood the procedure they needed to follow if they suspected abuse might be taking place. Risks to people were identified and plans were put in place to help manage the risk and minimise them occurring whilst encouraging and promoting peoples’ independence.

At the time of this inspection staff were not currently supporting people with medicines. However, systems and processes were in place for trained staff to follow should it be required.

There was sufficient staff available to respond to meet people’s individual needs and preferences. All staff had a set rota and a member of staff were available at all times should people need to contact them.

A comprehensive training plan was in place and all staff had completed up to date training.

People were supported by a regular team of staff who were knowledgeable about people’s likes, dislikes and preferences.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible to promote their independence. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were able to manage meals independently and staff encouraged this.

Care plans detailed people’s needs, wishes and preferences and were person-centred. Care plans were reviewed on a regular basis to ensure they contained up to date information that was meeting people’s individual care needs. People were actively involved in care planning and decision making and this was evident in signed care plans and consent forms.

The service had a clear process for handling complaints.

Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service and felt supported by the manager.

Quality assurance processes were in place and regularly carried out by the manager and registered provider, to monitor and improve the quality of the service.

The service worked with various health and social care professionals and sought advice to ensure individual needs were being met.

Feedback was sought from people who used the service and action was taken when shortfalls were identified.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

Further information is in the detailed findings below:

People who used the service told us they were happy and satisfied with the care and support provided. They made comments such as "The staff are very efficient.' And 'I would certainly recommend this service. I could not have managed without them.'

People told us staff supported them as they wished to be supported and were always polite and respectful. They also said that the staff respected their privacy and protected their dignity when providing care.

We looked at people's care records. We found that records were consistent, accurate and up to date. The staff we spoke with told us how they delivered care in a person-centred way which meant people were consulted and included in decisions about their care.

People were protected against the risks associated with medicines because appropriate arrangements were in place to ensure these were managed in a safe way.

We reviewed the recruitment and selection processes and found them to be robust. This ensured that people were supported by suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff.

This was the first inspection of the agency. We saw that they had worked hard to put everything in place to make sure that people were safely cared for. This included policies and procedures, induction training for staff and quality monitoring systems.