9 October 2013
During a routine inspection
We spoke to five people who used the service and/or their relatives. The majority told us they were consulted about the care being given, and felt they were able to express their views. One relative told us the carers did not always listen to what they wanted. People told us the carers respected their dignity and privacy. One relative told us "they treat them with respect. We are involved in care planning". Another told us "our regular carer is very good, fantastic". One person using the service told us " staff are willing and kind".
We saw that people using the service had needs assessments carried out, and support plans and risk assessments were in place. However, not all assessments and support plans had been reviewed in line with the provider's own policy.
Staff we spoke with demonstrated an adequate knowledge of safeguarding procedures and the agency had safeguarding policies in place.
There were effective recruitment and selection processes in place and appropriate checks were undertaken before staff began work.
We found staff had not received all of the training the agency stated they had, and not all of their mandatory training was up to date. Staff told us they wanted to obtain further qualifications but had not had the opportunity to do so.
There were some systems in place to assess the quality of the service being provided but these were not robust enough.