Archived: ExtraCare Charitable Trust Ryfields Village

We found evidence of good practices in managing the safety of the people they provided support to. Staff ensured people's property was secure in between their visits.

We found that the record keeping was clear and transparent regarding the names and signatures of staff providing support. Records were accessible to people and their families and enabled them to regularly check their care records and records made. Regular checks showed on-going monitoring and actions had been taken by senior staff to rectify and resolve any identified issues.

People being supported by the service told us they were very happy with the support provided by the staff team. They made various comments such as:

"I'm happy enough, I've no problems" and "The staff are just like friends to me here, they look after me and keep me safe."

People told us they were happy with the services provided and that staff had always been respectful towards them and protected their privacy and dignity. People told us they had made decisions about their care and support and felt that their choices and wishes had been listened to and had been acted upon. Their comments included the following; "I feel comfortable because I have a small group of carers who know what I need", "The service is very good", "Its' excellent and I have never had any reason at all to complain. The carers are totally reliable". 'This place is wonderful, the staff are excellent the building is good but it would be nothing without the staff.'

We spoke with staff members on duty during the visit. They were knowledgeable about the different needs of the people using the service and of how to meet these needs.

People told us they had been provided with information on how to raise a concern or complaint and that they would feel confident to do so, but they had not had reason to.

People who used the service told us that staff were generally on time for the calls but sometimes they were late if they had dealt with an emergency. People said if they needed two staff to provide assistance they sometimes had to wait until both staff turned up before any assistance could be provided.

We spoke with two people who used the service and the relatives of one other person. No-one we spoke with expressed any concerns about the support provided with medicines. One person told us 'I'm happy, it's a nice place with good staff." A family member told us, 'we know we can go away for a few days and (relative) is looked after.'

In this report the name of a registered manager appears who was not in post and not managing the regulatory activities at this location at the time of the inspection. Their name appears because they were still a Registered Manager on our register at the time.

People told us that knew what who to speak to if they were not happy about the service they received. People told us "I would speak to the carers" and "I would speak to the team leader if I was not happy."

We looked at the procedures in place for when the service recruits new staff and saw that appropriate checks were carried out during the recruitment process. This helps essure that only people suitable to work with vulnerable people are employed.

We spoke with three people and a relative about the support with medication provided by the service. Everyone we spoke with was positive about the support they received. However, we found that the services medicines policies were not always adhered, increasing the risk of errors occuring.

One person we spoke with had chosen to manage some of their own medicines, whilst care workers administered others. They were happy with the arrangements in place and had everything they needed but we again found that the risks were not fully assessed and documented within their support plan.