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 the Longer Term Homecare Team, 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 using this type of service.We visited four people in their own home as part of this review and spoke with them about their experiences of the support they have received. We spoke with four senior staff and one care worker at the time of our visit to the office and also spoke with four care workers during our visits to people's homes. We spoke with 20 people who received a service from this agency over the telephone. All of the people we spoke with during this review made very positive comments about the quality of the service. Every person we spoke with told us their care workers and the office staff spoke with them in a courteous and helpful way.
One person said 'they treat me like gold. I can't say enough good things about them. They know everything about my illness and what I can and can't do. I feel safe with these care workers.'
Another person said 'they are wonderful, like angels without wings. They're so gentle and kind. They do everything for me and I can ask them to do anything. I have had the same care workers for years. I'm safe with them. If I wasn't happy I would ring the office but I have never had to.'
People said their care workers were well trained and understood their needs. One person said 'some of the care workers are better trained than others but I think they're all really well trained.'
All of the people we spoke with told us they felt safe using the Tower Hamlets Longer-Term Care Team. They said they were confident about approaching the office team if they had any concerns, and they believed the registered manager would investigate their concerns.
People told us they felt their views were listened to, and they were treated with respect by people at the agency.