Reablement Service is a domiciliary care and reablement service providing short term support to people living in the borough of St Helens. The service forms part of the services delivered to people by St Helens Metropolitan Council. All services provided by the Reablement are co-ordinated from an office located in the grounds of Whiston Hospital. At the time of this inspection 24 people were in receipt of services.

The service provides two levels of support to people, a Reablement service for a period of up to six weeks and a Crisis Response service that offers urgent support for a period of up to seven days. The purpose of the service is to enable people to be discharged from hospital to their home address with rehabilitation services and to prevent people, wherever possible from being admitted to hospital.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of overall good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Why the service is rated good.

People told us they felt safe using the service and they felt the service was effective for them. Their comments included “They enable me to do as much as I can”, “Smashing service”, “Always ask if I want anything and if they can find it they will” and “Nothing is too much trouble.” Additional comments in relation to how the service was caring included “Very polite and very nice”, “They [staff] are smashing and nice people”, “My privacy is always respected”, “They [staff] are very polite and very nice” and “Very respectful.”

At the time a person started to use the service checks were carried out to identify any potential hazards or risk to people and staff safety. Systems were in place to support people with their medicines safely when required. Staff rotas were continually monitored to ensure that people received the visits they required.

Prior to or at the start of a person using the service people’s needs were assessed. These assessments enabled the service to identify people’s needs and wishes and to plan individual’s care and rehabilitation. People’s nutritional needs were considered and planned for as part of the care planning process. People received support from staff that received regular training for their role.

People were provided with information about the service and safeguarding people from harm and this information was available in different formats and translation when required.

Individual care plans gave the opportunity to record people’s needs and plan how their care was to be delivered. People’s care and support needs were reviewed on a weekly basis or sooner if required. A complaints procedure was in place and people using the service had access to this. People were asked for their views on the service as their period of support was coming to an end.

Policies and procedures were in place to promote safe working practices and promote the health, safety and wellbeing of people using the service. All policies and procedures were accessible to staff at the service’s office. Systems were in place to continually monitor the quality of the service people received. The registered provider continued to develop the service along with health care provision within the area to provide support when needed to people in their own homes.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This was an announced inspection carried out on 5 & 9 February 2016. We contacted the registered provider 48 hours prior to us visiting the service. Notice of the inspection was given as we needed to be sure that the registered manager or someone who could act on their behalf would be available to support our inspection.

St Helens reablement service is a jointly funded multi-disciplinary Intermediate Care Service. Its primary aim is to promote independence so that people can remain living in their own home, help people recover faster from illness and to prevent unnecessary admission to hospital and long term care facilities. The service is offered for a period of six weeks.

A registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.

Systems were in place to keep people safe. These systems included safe medicines management procedures and assessing and minimising risks to people and in and around their homes.

People were protected by safe recruitment practices that ensured appropriate checks were carried out prior to a member of staff starting their role. This also helped ensure that only suitable staff were employed by the service.

People were supported by staff who received regular training and support for their role. This helped to ensure that people received safe and effective care and support from a well-trained staff team.

Plans of how people needed to be cared for were available. The plans contained specific information about individuals’ that staff needed to know when they were delivering care and support to people.

People accessing the service benefited from having access to the services of health care professionals which included physiotherapists, occupational therapists and general and psychiatric nurses.

A complaints procedure was in place and people told us that if they needed to complain they felt they would be listened to. No complaints had been received about or by the service.

The service was supported by the registered provider’s human resource, training and health and safety departments. In addition, policies and procedures were in place to support and guide staff on best practice for their role. These policies and procedures were updated on a regular basis. Having access to this information helped ensure that people received the care and support they required as staff had up to date knowledge of best practice available to them.