Craven North Reablement Service

Updated 5 January 2019

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.

This inspection took place on 13 and 18 December 2018 and was announced.

We gave the provider 24 hours' notice to ensure someone would be available at the office. We carried out a site visit on the first day of inspection and on day two we carried out telephone interviews with people who use the service, relatives and staff.

The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection, we had received a completed Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the PIR and other information we held about the service as part of our inspection. This included the notifications we had received from the provider. Notifications are changes, events or incidents the provider is legally obliged to send CQC within required timescales. We contacted other professionals who could comment about people’s care.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records about people’s care and how the service was managed. We looked at care records for five people, recruitment, training and induction records for three staff, staffing rosters, staff meeting minutes and quality assurance audits the registered manager had completed. After the inspection we telephoned three people, one relative and five staff members to obtain their views about the service.

Updated 5 January 2019

This was an announced, comprehensive inspection that took place on 13 and 18 December 2018.

Craven North Reablement service provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. One of the functions of the service is to provide assessment and short-term rehabilitative support to promote people's independence or if needed access to longer term support. We inspected the short-term assessment and reablement service. At the time of inspection 17 people were using the service.

At our last comprehensive inspection in April 2016 we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained good.

People and their relatives told us the service kept them safe. They trusted the staff who supported them. Risks to people were assessed and plans put in place to reduce the chances of them occurring. Policies and procedures were in place to safeguard people from abuse. People's medicines were managed safely.

The provider and registered manager monitored staffing levels to ensure enough staff were deployed to support people safely. The provider's recruitment process minimised the risk of unsuitable staff being employed.

People had access to health care professionals to make sure they received appropriate care and treatment. There was clear evidence of collaborative working and communication within the team and other professionals in order to help people progress and become more independent. People's comments in their feedback to the service included, "I was happy with the whole service, they could not have done anymore for me and I was soon reabled this time" and "It has been wonderful having someone to come and enable me to be independent, wouldn't change anything."

People told us staff were kind and caring and they felt comfortable with all the staff who supported them. They also said their privacy, dignity and confidentiality were maintained. Staff understood the needs of people and care plans and associated documentation were clear and person-centred. Staff were aware of people's nutritional needs and made sure they were supported with eating and drinking where necessary.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible, the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff had received training and had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005(MCA) and best interests decision Making, when people were unable to make decisions themselves. There were other opportunities for staff to receive training to meet people's care needs.

People had the opportunity to give their views about the service and any improvements were made if required. There were several commendations about the service and staff support. For example, "I cannot praise the reablement workers highly enough for the care, courtesy and dedication they have shown towards me. When I first came out of hospital I was deflated and feeling very down and unloved but with their encouragement and support, I have regained my lust for life."

People said they knew how to complain. The provider undertook a range of audits to check on the quality of care provided.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.