Archived: Short Term Assessment, Reablement and Telecare (START)

Updated 15 March 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 13 and 17 January 2017 and was announced. One inspector visited the service on both days of the inspection.

We spoke with five people using the reablement service to learn about their experiences. We also spoke with 12 staff including the registered manager and received written feedback from six health and social care professionals.

We reviewed three people’s care plans and other records in full, and sampled specific care records for a further seven people. We also looked at two staff files, training records and other records relating to how the service was managed.

Before the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the organisation including the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

Updated 15 March 2017

We undertook an announced inspection of the Short Term Assessment, Reablement and Telecare (START) service on 13 and 17 January 2017. We told the registered manager two working days before our visit that we would be visiting because the location provided a community care service for people in their own homes and we needed to be sure the registered manager would be available.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.

START provides reablement support to a wide range of people in their home following either a hospital admission, or a change to the individual’s ability or independence. The service supported people to regain lost skills, learn new ones, and generally increase their ability and independence. The registered manager told us, “The ethos is around enabling people to do things for themselves. The adults are what is important to all of us”.

People were extremely positive about the care they received. They told us staff were very caring, friendly and unhurried in their approach. People were very involved in determining what support they required. Regular reviews enabled people and staff to measure how they were improving and what else could support them to become more independent. Reablement assistants were enthusiastic and experienced. They demonstrated a very individualised approach and knew how to respond in an emergency or when to offer assistance for a person's well-being.

People and staff described a highly responsive service. Visits were not time limited and the service had received over 100 compliments in the past 12 months. People feedback to the service that the support they had received had made a huge difference to their recovery.

People felt safely supported and there were safeguarding and risk management systems in place. Robust recruitment ensured that the staff employed were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

People told us staff were skilled and the staff we spoke with were highly complementary about the training they received. Staff told us there were effective support systems in place and that they were able to gain advice or guidance whenever they needed to.

People and staff consistently fed-back that the service was well run and provided positive leadership. There was a strong emphasis on people pursuing full, active lives in their own communities.

There was a clear management structure in place and oversight from the provider. The registered manager was proactive and enthusiastic about the positive outcomes for people who used the service. Staff were motivated, innovative and skilled in reabling people to achieve greater levels of independence.

There were systems in place to monitor the safety and drive the continuous improvement of the quality of the service provided.