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Hamilton/Blantyre/Larkhall Home Care Service Housing Support Service Social Work Resources Brandon Gate 1 Leechlee Road Hamilton ML3 0XB Telephone: 0303 123 1008 Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 29 July 2016 Service provided by: Service provider number: South Lanarkshire Council SP2003003481 Care service number: CS2004073570 Inspection report About the service Hamilton/Blantyre/Larkhall Homecare Service is delivered to people who live in these areas of South Lanarkshire. The provider for this registered service is South Lanarkshire Council. The home support service is available to older people, younger adults and children and families who have had a needs assessment completed. The care and support service is managed by a team of Community Support Co-ordinators and delivered by a trained and motivated dispersed Home Care Support Workers delivering personal care, extended personal care, meals and shopping. Service users are also supported by the Integrated Community Support Team located at a local hospital and the providers own out of hours service Community Alarm which operates twenty-four hours a day three hundred and sixty-five days per year. The introduction to the service user's guide says: "The Home Care Service offers personal, social, emotional and practical support to service users and their families. It aims to ensure that people are maintained and supported in their own home for as long as possible". What people told us We sent out Care Inspectorate questionnaires before the inspection and had thirteen returned prior to writing this report. The responders ticked the question that overall satisfaction was strongly agree or agree although the written comments varied on experience and satisfaction of the service delivery. "I am satisfied with care I receive, although I would like if the carers had more time" "I think those who walk could do with a bit more time to get from A to B" "One day when I required personal care I found a carer to stand and gloat. I hope this never happens again" "The support staff do an excellent job. However in the short time I have had care there have been constant changes of staff and changes to arrival times. More regular staff would be more helpful to me and to the staff, we could establish a routine" We spoke service users and their partners or carers at the Participation Meeting who were overall very happy with the service and spoke highly of the home carers. "My relative receives excellent care" "My parents are both extremely happy with the support and care provided by their regular carers and can't thank them enough for the care and attention provided. The only improvement they feel could be made is perhaps the provision of a little more time to perform their care". "I requested for someone to come in and shower my relative and there has been a lengthy time lapse and we have still not heard from anyone. I find this unacceptable due to my elativesr age". Inspection report for Hamilton/Blantyre/Larkhall Home Care Service page 2 of 12 Inspection report Self assessment We received a fully completed self assessment document from the service provider who graded themselves across all the statements good and very good. The service provider identified what they thought they did well, some areas for development and any changes they planned. The service provider told us how the people who used the care service are consulted to give their views and opinions about the support they receive; quality of service and how they think it could be improved. The views of employees are also sought by the provider. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support 4 - Good Quality of staffing 4 - Good Quality of management and leadership 4 - Good Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection The ethos of home support service is to deliver a person centred care service that enables the individual to retain their daily living skills and remain in their own home for as long as is physically possible and safe to do so. In Hamilton, Blantyre and Larkhall there are four hundred part-time home care workers providing care and support to over one thousand one hundred service users. All parties are involved in the development of the individuals support plan through the assessment process and review of the support plan every six months or more frequently when required. People who use the service are provided with a copy of their care plan and a customer Welcome Pack which provides contact details including phone numbers and email addresses. The Provider has a number of policies and procedures including the Complaints Policy and Procedure which is made available to all users of the care service. The service had evidence of comments, Compliments and Complaints recorded as well as thank you cards. All persons who use the service are invited to join the Participation group and attend twice yearly meetings or quarterly surgery type events as well as completing a Satisfaction Survey or Questionnaire. The outcome of the in house survey is collated and circulated, permits comments to be recorded and indicate the level of overall satisfaction an individual has regarding their own day-to-day support and activities and evaluate the services and that of the staff. The dispersed home care workforce is managed by the Community Support Co-ordinators for each of the geographical areas. The Co-ordinators supervise their Home Carers quality of care delivered, competency to implement the training they have received, complete the six month reviews of the care plans, organise and communicate the service delivery. The service is supported by administrators located at the office base. Inspection report for Hamilton/Blantyre/Larkhall Home Care Service page 3 of 12 Inspection report The assessment process, through interview either at a home visit or referral from hospital services provide the information which is developed into the support plans relating to the individuals social and health care needs to retain skills of daily living. We sampled a number of individuals support plan details held on the Social Work Information System and the hard copies held in the office. People who use the support service also have access to other South Lanarkshire Services including the out of hours service accessible by the individual using the ALERT alarm, normally worn as a pendant around the neck or on a wrist band. A recent addition to the service is the Integrated Community Support Team "ICST Team" which provides overnight support to a number of people who use the service whose assessed needs meet the criteria for this specific section of the support service. South Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire are working in partnership to evaluate the new medicines management system for people who live at home. There is a clear delineation of levels of assistance assessed, identified and provided. Medication record sheets are in place where and when required. Staff receive training from the provider before they are deemed competent to administer medication; keeping accurate records and ensuring the storage of the individuals prescriptions are safe, secure and at appropriate temperature. Service users use the primary health care team in the community and staff have details how to access said. Staff also received various specialised training to meet the assessed needs of the individual, including Nutrition and Infection Control, to protect the nutrition and hydration requirements of the individual. Home care staff make use of receipt books supplied by the provider to retain clear records of a financial nature on behalf of the service user. Since the last inspection there have been refinements of the internal systems with siting operational staff in the local hospitals to improve the discharge plan. Occupational therapists are easily accessible through "Supporting Your Independence" to assist with goal setting and variation to the package of care. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 4 - good Quality of staffing Findings from the inspection The provider has a recruitment policy and procedure in place. The care service has a rolling programme for the recruitment of home care workers and the interview process. Inspection report for Hamilton/Blantyre/Larkhall Home Care Service page 4 of 12 Inspection report New employees are interviewed by a panel who score the individual against a set criteria. Prior to an offer of employment the provider completes the Safer Recruitment process which is inclusive of references and Protection of Vulnerable Groups check. The successful applicant then participates in the Home Care Induction programme over a designated period and shadows an experienced member of staff prior to working alone with their own allocated caseload. South Lanarkshire Council employees receive a handbook, receipt book, specialised and communication tools and personal protective clothing. The provider had evidence of training calendar and there was the facility to print off an overview spreadsheet for the full staff group of courses run and attended. Each member of staff has their own training record held on the information technology system and these are used at times of supervision and personal development meetings. Records are in place showing name of attendees at the training topic, date and venue and who delivered the course. The attendees are requested to complete an evaluation form to express their learning achievements regarding content. 2016 has seen a number of specialised training courses, having been made available to staff via the Learning and Development Section of the organisation, such as Palliative Care, Continence Care, Enhanced Level Dementia Workshop, Adult Support and Protection and other courses have focussed on the home care scheduling and core caring skills for home carers. Staff have recognised qualifications Scottish ocationalV Qualifications at level 2, 3 and 4 and are already or are in preparation to register with Scottish Social Services Council.

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