We carried out a themed inspection looking at domiciliary care services. We asked people to tell us what it was like to receive services from this home care agency as part of a targeted inspection programme of domiciliary care agencies with particular regard to how people's dignity was upheld and how they can make choices about their care. The inspection team was led by a CQC inspector joined by an Expert by Experience, who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service.We used postal surveys, telephone interviews and home visits to people who use the service and to their main carers (relatives or friends) to gain views about the service.
We visited four people in their homes and all four told us that they were very happy with the service from the agency. We also spoke with three carers, family members who cared for their relatives. Their comments about quality were also complimentary, for example one person stated: 'We get much better care than we expected, since we moved to this agency.'
We talked on the phone to 22 people and all were positive about the quality of care they received. People felt respected and treated in a dignified way. All people stated that they were called by their preferred name. We checked records kept in their homes which showed their preferred name recorded.
All people spoken with knew about their care plans. One relative told us that they were involved in all reviews. Two people told us that they always sign their care plans and we noticed that all checked care plans were signed.
All people spoken with stated that they felt safe and protected. One person who had just moved into a new house said that a new risk assessment was drawn up on the day they moved in. All the people we spoke with confirmed that visits to check quality were regular and that they were asked about the quality of service. One person named a team leader who had conducted visits to check quality the day before our visit.