20 April 2012
During a routine inspection
The people that we spoke with told us that staff from the agency respected their privacy and helped them to remain or become as independent as possible. They told us that staff were polite, helpful and friendly. One person said, 'I have never felt uncomfortable having the carers in my home'.
One person said that the staff seemed to be 'dedicated' and everyone that we spoke with said that the care workers appeared to have received appropriate training and were 'the right people for the job'.
The people that we visited at home said that they had contacted the office when they felt that their needs had changed or that they wished to amend the service they received, and as a result staff had visited them to reassess their needs.
People told us that staff appeared to be well trained and were suited to the role of care worker. They said that they were satisfied with the service they received and were confident if they contacted the office any concerns would be dealt with.
Staff that we spoke with said that a survey had been distributed to everyone using the service. One care worker said, 'but no-one bothered to fill it in' whereas other staff said that people did get the opportunity to express their views in surveys. Two members of staff expressed concern about the lack of staff meetings ' one person said that they missed out on the opportunity to discuss concerns about the people they supported and another person said that they usually had staff meetings when the agency have 'issues' to discuss with them.
The local authority safeguarding and quality teams and they said that they had no concerns about Independent Home Living.