- Homecare service
NCC First Support - Eastern
Report from 26 January 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of inspection: 24 February to 05 March 2025. The service is a care at home service providing reablement support for up to 6 weeks only for younger adults, older people, and/or those with a physical disability. The aim of the service is to support people to regain their independence and confidence following, although not exclusively, a health crisis, often following a hospital admission. At the start of the inspection, there were 60 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care. Whilst further improvements were required in relation to medicines, care and risk records, the previous breaches relating to safe care and treatment, and governance, had been met.
People received a person-centered service that met their needs and goals. People received kind and effective support from a small group of appropriately recruited staff who knew them, their needs, and goals well, and supported them to meet these. Staff had received robust inductions, training, and support and demonstrated they were professional and knowledgeable.
The outcomes for people receiving the service were consistently good; people told us this and records demonstrated it. Whilst the morale of staff was lower than usual at the time of this inspection, due to staff sickness levels and recent rota changes, this had not impacted on the quality of the service people received. We saw that the service consistently met its aims and objectives which was to support people to become more independent and help them reach their potential following a health crisis. To achieve this, the service worked well with other health and social care professionals who provided positive feedback on the service and what it achieved for people.
The service was aware of the improvements it needed to make, and an action plan was in place to address these. They responded positively to our feedback and demonstrated they were committed to making the improvements required.
People's experience of this service
People spoke positively about the service they received. They told us it met their needs, increased their confidence and independence, and made them feel better. A person who used the service summed up people’s experiences by telling us, “If you could put it all in a bottle what they did for me, it would be great medicine. They picked me up and boosted me up.”
People told us they felt involved in, and in control of, the care they received and that they were supported to make decisions around it. They spoke highly of the staff that supported them and told us they had confidence in them and their abilities to provide care and support. People told us they received dignified care and that they felt respected, listened to, and engaged. For example, a person who used the service said, “Initially I was worried and embarrassed about having someone come in to help wash me. I cannot praise them enough; they treat me with dignity, and it is a pleasure to have their help.”
People told us they felt safe and comfortable receiving the service. They told us staff not only provided care and support but advice and signposting to other services that could offer additional help. They felt encouraged by staff’s knowledge describing how staff would contact health professionals for them, with their consent, if they identified concerns or potential issues.
People appreciated receiving support from the same group of staff and whilst call times were not always consistent, they accepted this and told us it had not impacted negatively on them or the care they received. People spoke of good communication with the office and whilst they did not receive a rota, they were always told which staff member would be visiting them next. People told us they were given clear information on the service and had opportunities to provide feedback. They told us they were made aware of how to raise a complaint, but none had felt the need to do so.
Everyone we spoke with recommended the service.