Argyll Homecare Ltd Housing Support Service 24 Argyll Street Lochgilphead PA31 8NE Telephone: 01546 600 333 Type of inspection: Announced (short notice) Inspection completed on: 27 July 2016 Service provided by: Argyll Homecare Ltd Service provider number: SP2005007263 Care service number: CS2005090291
About the service Argyll Homecare is a combined Housing Support and Care at Home service, registered to provide a service to older people and people with dementia, adults with learning disabilities, adults with mental health problems and adults with physical disabilities, in their own homes. Argyll Homecare is a local family run organisation which provides personal care and domestic support to a range of vulnerable adults living in mid Argyll and Kintyre. The service operates with a small support team from an office base in Lochgilphead. Argyll Homecare's aims and objectives state: 'We aim to provide our clients with a comprehensive service of care of the highest quality within their own home environment. We strive to offer a flexible, efficient and professional service which is tailored to meet each person's individual needs. We will treat each client with respect and remain sensitive to his/her individual needs and abilities, and aim to promote the client's independence and personal dignity". What people told us Three relatives and one person who used the service returned completed care standards questionnaires. We spoke with one more relative and visited three people who used the service during the inspection. Everyone was very happy with the service they received and with the staff who provided their care and support. Communication was described by relatives as excellent. Other comments included: "Absolutely top class. I can't fault them." "They are also very supportive to me and keep me well informed. I cannot praise them highly enough." "Argyll Homecare provide an excellent service and I would commend them highly to any service user. The levels of communication, respect, support and care from all staff are a model of good practice." "My (relative) has always received a first class service from Argyll Homecare." page 2 of 6
Self assessment Services undertake a self assessment before an inspection. The self assessment details strengths, areas for improvement and grades the service has awarded itself based on its performance under quality indicators. The inspector reviews this before inspection and reviews some of the evidence that the provider says they have to evidence their performance. The Care Inspectorate received a completed self assessment document from the service. The provider identified what it thought the service did well, some areas for development and any changes it had planned. We discussed how to improve the information provided in the self assessment in order to show how the areas of strength had improved the outcomes for residents. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership 5 - Very Good not assessed 4 - Good What the service does well This is a small service which provides a very personal home care service. We saw in e-mails and heard from people who used the service and their relatives that the manager and staff were very good at communicating on a daily basis, sharing information and listening and responding to people's wishes. We could see that the service responded quickly to any issues raised. Care plans examined provided detailed information on how to provide care and support and were updated immediately when there were any changes. People who used the service benefit from having the same carers who knew them well and were well informed about their care and support needs. Feedback from a health professional, relatives and people using the service confirmed that the service works closely with other health professionals to ensure the best care is provided and staff were said to be quick to respond to any changes in people's health and wellbeing. People taking part in this inspection made the following comments about the quality of the care provided and the positive outcomes for people: "Argyll Healthcare adopt a more personalised approach to care. They get to know the client and their family." "Care is carried out according to how my (relative) wants it." "Without the support of the team I don't know how I would be able to maintain my (relative) in the comfort of her own home." "My (relative) feels more confident now." Staff induction and training made sure the staff had the training they needed before providing care and support. Staff taking part in this inspection felt well supported. page 3 of 6
A particular strength of the service was the caring attitude of staff. This was commented on by people using the service and their relatives and we witnessed this during the inspection. The owners also knew the people who used the service, their relatives and the staff well and regularly carried out monitoring visits; visiting people who used the service to check their care records and ask them for their views on the service. What the service could do better Care plans for people with dementia, who may not be able to express their needs, would benefit from more information on the person's background and what was important to them. This would help staff get to know and understand the person better. We signposted the manager to the Scottish Social Services Council website for information on dementia training. Some risk assessments needed to be more person centred and evidence the involvement of the person using the service or their representative. The manager had identified the need to develop staff supervision to include reflecting on practice and evidencing individual staff competency. Some of the checks to assess the quality of the service provided (quality assurance systems) were carried informally. This was a small service who monitored the quality of the service they provided on a daily basis but did not always record this. The positive feedback from people involved in this inspection showed this was currently effective. However, we discussed with the owners the need to develop stronger audit systems as the service grows. During the inspection the owners developed a form to formally record the outcomes of monitoring visits. A recommendation was made at the last inspection to further develop quality assurance systems. This had not been fully met and is carried forward. (See recommendation 1). Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 1 1. The quality assurance records and audits should be further developed by the service to ensure that positive outcomes are systematically documented. Areas for improvement should be recorded and followed up. National Care Standards 4 Care at Home - Management and. page 4 of 6
Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at www.careinspectorate.com. Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 16 Dec 2015 Unannounced Care and support Management and leadership 4 - Good 2 Oct 2014 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Management and leadership 4 - Good 5 Aug 2013 Announced (short notice) Care and support 4 - Good 4 - Good Management and leadership 4 - Good 14 Sep 2012 Announced (short notice) Care and support Management and leadership 23 Sep 2010 Announced Care and support Management and leadership 5 Oct 2009 Announced Care and support Management and leadership page 5 of 6
To find out more This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our website. Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and help services to improve. We also investigate complaints about care services and can take action when things aren't good enough. Please get in touch with us if you would like more information or have any concerns about a care service. You can also read more about our work online at www.careinspectorate.com Contact us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com 0345 600 9527 Find us on Facebook Twitter: @careinspect Other languages and formats This report is available in other languages and formats on request. Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 6 of 6