Unit 2N, First Floor

Unit 2N, First Floor, referred to as Carers Direct in this report, is a domiciliary care agency that was providing personal care to 25 people at the time of the inspection. It supports people with different needs and backgrounds. Including people with mobility needs, mental health needs, learning disabilities and dementia.

People's experience of using this service:

People, relatives and staff spoke highly of Carers Direct. The service had strong person-centred values and placed people at the heart of their work. People had access to a stable staff team they knew well and achieved positive outcomes and strong relationships. Comments from people included; "I receive such a high standard of care I have nothing to complain about", "I receive an excellent quality of care" and "I have recommended this company to a friend of mine who like me is losing her sight and she tells me she is getting good care like me from this company."

People were fully involved in their care and their wishes respected. People's views were sought and their consent was always gained before any care took place. People were offered as many choices as possible in ways which met their individual needs. For example, staff had created personalised picture cards to help a person communicate when they were having difficulties with verbal communication.

People's care plans contained personalised information which detailed how they wanted their care to be delivered. Staff knew people well and expressed care and affection for them when speaking with us. All staff we spoke with were proud to work for the service and praised the high standards of care expected.

Risks to people's health, safety and wellbeing were assessed and management plans were put in place to ensure these were reduced as much as possible. During the inspection we identified some risks assessments which had not been completed but this had not impacted on the people using the services because of their stable staff teams. The registered manager assured us these would be completed following the inspection.

People were protected from potential abuse by staff who had received training and were confident in raising concerns. There was a thorough recruitment process in place that checked potential staff were safe to work with people who may be vulnerable.

There was strong leadership at the service and people, relatives and staff spoke highly of the registered manager. There was a positive culture and staff felt their voices were listened to. Carers Direct was a cooperative and as such each member of staff was a member and participated in big decision making.

People were supported by kind and caring staff who worked hard to promote their independence and sense

of wellbeing. We were given examples of the staff going above and beyond for people. For example, one relative said, "One morning I had nipped out and when I got back the carer was hoovering the stairs for me. I was so grateful to her. She said she uses the stairs as well as me and it was the least she could do."

There were quality assurance systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided.

More information is in the full report