We spoke with two people who used the service, three relatives and a social worker. People were happy with the service provided. One person who used the service said "The carers are good, they always come at the right time and do what I want them to do". A relative said " It is a very caring service....The focus is on improving my relative's independence". The social worker said " I am really pleased with the way the service operates. My client has settled with the service quickly and gets consistent staff who provide very good support."The service encouraged participation within the local community by supporting people to take part in activities and interests that were important to them.
People we spoke with were complimentary about their personal assistants and also said that the independent living coordinators were approachable and helpful. People who used the service were involved in interviewing personal assistants to be employed for their care package and staff received appropriate training to meet the person's care and support needs.
However, when we reviewed the recruitment practices at the agency we found they were not robust enough to ensure staff were suitable for the job prior to being employed.
Also, the provider did not have a continuous quality assurance system in place to identify any areas for improvement.