Homecare Assessment and Reablement Team (HART) Leicestershire

Homecare Assessment and Reablement Team (HART) Leicestershire provides assessment, equipment and support to people in their own homes. The service is usually provided for up to six weeks and aims to help people to learn to live as independently as they can and to assess people's needs for longer term care. At the time of our inspection, the service was supporting approximately 203 people.

The service also provides a Crisis Support Team, who provide personal care for up to 72 hours for people in their own homes in crisis situations. For example, when released from hospital, they can support people on a short-term basis whilst they find a longer-term care provider. At the time of inspection there were 16 people receiving personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

There was a registered manager at the service, they had been registered since February 2016.

The registered manager, managers and reablement support workers (care staff) were all dedicated to the reablement of people in their own homes.

People set their own goals and staff supported them to achieve these by promoting people’s independence. People received care from a multi-disciplinary team who assessed their needs in a holistic way; enabling people to access services such as occupational therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, assistive technology and personal care.

People were protected from the risks of abuse or unsafe care by staff who understood their responsibilities to report concerns. People had information about how to make a complaint and the registered manager responded using the providers policy.

People were allocated staff at regular intervals; this was reassessed and reduced as they became more independent. Staff received training and supervision that supported them to carry out their roles.

Staff assisted people to become more independent in preparing their meals and promoted healthy eating. Where people were unable to prepare their own meals, people were signposted to providers that could deliver meals.

People received care from staff that showed kindness and compassion. People were treated with respect and dignity.

The registered manager used learning from incidents, feedback and complaints to improve the service. They carried out audits to assess and monitor the service to look for areas of improvement.

The registered manager was proactive in developing relationships with other organisations to ensure a smooth transfer of care or to improve the resources available to people.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 5 July 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Homecare Assessment and Reablement Team (HART) Leicestershire provides short-term personal care and support to people in their own home following discharge from hospital. At the time of our inspection 298 people were receiving personal care and support from the service.

There was a registered manager in place. It is a requirement that the service has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People felt safe with the support they received. Staff knew how to help people to remain safe and what action to take should they have concerns about a person being at risk of abuse or harm. Staff had assessed risks associated with people’s care and support. These were monitored to make sure the measures in place to guide staff continued to help people to remain safe. Staff had guidance and procedures to follow to make sure people received support in the event of an accident, injury or emergency.

The provider had recruited a suitable number of staff to make sure that people received the care they required when they needed it. Where people required assistance with their medicines, this was completed safely by staff who knew their responsibilities.

People received care and support from staff with the necessary skills and knowledge. Staff received training relevant to their role which helped them to offer good support to people. Staff knew people’s eating and drinking requirements and they took action where they were concerned about a person’s health.

People were asked for their consent before care and support was undertaken. Their rights were upheld and staff knew the action to take should they have concerns about a person’s ability to make decisions about their care and support.

People received care from staff members that was kind and supportive. People’s independence was promoted and staff actively encouraged people to retain or regain their skills. Staff protected people’s privacy and dignity and involved them in decisions about their care. Staff built relationships with the people they supported based on information they had gained about things that mattered to them.

People received care and support that was exceptionally well planned and carried out to meet their individual requirements. This included collaboratively working with other professionals to meet people’s specific requirements. People’s care and support was reviewed with them to make sure that their goals were being met and that they were satisfied with their support. People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint and there were opportunities for them to provide feedback. The provider responded comprehensively to any complaint received and took action to make improvements where this was required.

People, their relatives and staff all highly commended the service. There were open channels of communication and the registered manager was supportive and available. The registered manager was knowledgeable about their role and helped to support the wider care sector to improve.

Staff were aware of their responsibilities which included working to the provider’s aims and objectives. They received guidance and feedback on their work to make sure they delivered good quality care. The registered manager undertook their duties in line with their registration requirements with CQC. They had carried out or arranged for quality checks of the service to occur. This was with the aim of continuously driving improvement.