21 December 2011
During a routine inspection
During this inspection visit we looked at outcomes four and sixteen of the essential standards of quality and safety, under the regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. Outcome four looks at the care and welfare needs of people using the service. Outcome sixteen looks at how the service assesses and monitors the quality of the services that people receive.
Usually all our visits are unannounced, but it was helpful to have the manager of the service present in order to help us gather the information we needed. We therefore contacted the service shortly before our intended visit date to ensure she was available.
Prior to our visit we had not received any concerns about this service.
At the time we visited the service was in the processing of changing its purpose. Letters had been sent to people using the service and their supporters at the beginning of the year, informing them of the changes.
People had been told that from March 2011 a new service called Living Independently Staffordshire' would be introduced. It was intended that this would provide 12 weeks free re-ablement, an increase from the current six weeks they received. Re-enablement means that people are supported to achieve their goals and to try and return to what they were able to do previously.
In addition, over the next two years period Staffordshire County Council told people that they would be contracting with private care organisations or personal assistants to deliver people's care on the council's behalf. This approach would provide high quality flexible services with strict safeguards in place and would also help to meet the growing demand for care to be delivered in people's own homes.
At the time of our visit arrangements were still underway to ensure that people were fully informed of the care options available to them.
Following our visit to the office we telephoned four people who used the service to obtain their views about the care and support they received. They told us that they had been kept informed of the changes and how this would affect them personally.
For people who were unable to express their views we spoke with their representatives. All of the people we spoke with were happy with the support they received from the service. They said that the staff were 'very good' and 'like a family' and 'very patient.'
We also telephoned two staff members and spoke with them about the support they received from the service. They told us that they felt very well supported and had worked for the service for many years and had always found them to be 'very good with training.'