Suffolk Home First South provides an assessment and reablement service to people who require personal care, help with daily living activities and other practical tasks. This can include people who have not had care services before, who require care following discharge from hospital or whose care needs have recently changed. The service works alongside other agencies such as health and external care providers usually for the short term period of usually up to six weeks, encouraging people to develop the confidence and skills to carry out these activities themselves and continue to live at home. People may be supported for a longer period of time, this is assessed on people’s individual needs. When we visited the service’s office for our inspection on 7 January 2019, the service was providing the regulatory activity of personal care to 55 people. This was an announced inspection. The provider was given notice of this inspection to make sure that someone was available to see us.

At the service’s last inspection of 8 June 2016, this service was rated good overall and in each key question. At this inspection we identified that people continued to receive a safe, effective, caring and responsive service. Improvements had been made in the key question well-led, which is now rated as outstanding.

There were two registered managers in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

People received a service which was extremely well-led. The registered managers were very knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities in providing people with high quality care and support. The registered managers had systems in place to continuously improve the service and used any issues that arose to improve the service. There were systems to assess and monitor the service provided. Where improvements were identified swift actions were taken to address them to ensure people were provided with an extremely high quality service at all times. There was a very open culture and people using the service and staff were encouraged to share their views of the service and these were valued and used to drive improvement.

People continued to receive a safe service. Risks to people were managed, including risks from abuse and in their daily lives. The service learned from incidents to improve the service. There were systems to ensure there enough support workers to ensure that all planned visits for people were completed. Support workers were recruited safely. Where people required support with their medicines, this was done safely. There were infection control processes to reduce the risks of cross infection.

People continued to receive an effective service. Support workers were trained and supported to meet the needs of the people using the service. Where people required assistance with their dietary needs, this was provided. People were supported to have access to health professionals where needed. The service worked with other organisations involved in people’s care to provide a consistent service. The service understood and worked to the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

People continued to receive a caring service. People told us about the positive relationships they had with their support workers. People’s dignity, privacy and independence were respected and promoted. People’s views were listened to and valued. People were central to the care they received and were consulted throughout their care provision.

People continued to receive a responsive service. People received personalised care and support which was assessed, planned for and delivered to meet their individual needs. A complaints procedure was in place and people’s concerns w

Suffolk Home First South provides an assessment and re-ablement service to people who require personal care, help with daily living activities and other practical tasks. This can include people who have not had care services before, who require care following discharge from hospital or whose care needs have recently changed. The service works alongside other agencies such as health and external care providers usually for the short term period of six to ten weeks encouraging people to develop the confidence and skills to carry out these activities themselves and continue to live at home.

When we inspected on 8 June 2016 the service was providing the regulatory activity of personal care to 117 people. This was an announced inspection. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location provides a care service within the community and we needed to know that someone would be available.

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.

People were complimentary about the approach of the care staff. They told us they felt safe and received effective care, tailored to meet their needs, from a consistent staff team who were competent and well trained.

Systems were in place which provided guidance for staff on how to safeguard the people who used the service from the potential risk of abuse. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in keeping people safe and actions were taken when they were concerned about people’s safety.

There were procedures and processes in place to ensure the safety of the people who used the service. These included risk assessments which identified how the risks to people were minimised.

Where people required assistance to take their medicines there were arrangements in place to provide this support safely.

There were sufficient numbers of staff who had been recruited safely and who had the skills and knowledge to provide care and support to people in the way they preferred. Staff had developed good relationships with people who used the service and understood the need to obtain consent when providing care.

People received care and support which was planned and delivered to meet their specific needs. People and/or their representatives, where appropriate, were involved in making decisions about their care and support arrangements.

Where required, people were safely supported with their dietary needs. Where staff had identified concerns in people’s wellbeing there were systems in place to contact health and social care professionals to make sure they received appropriate care and treatment.

A complaints procedure was in place. People’s concerns and complaints were listened to, addressed in a timely manner and used to improve the service.

The service had an open and empowering culture. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in providing safe and good quality care to the people who used the service. There was decisive and effective leadership in the service. The service had a quality assurance system in place and as a result the quality of the service continued to improve.

We spoke with nine people who used the service and eight relatives of people who used the service. We asked people if the care workers treated them with respect and one person said, "Absolutely, they are all very friendly." Another person said, "They certainly do." Another said, "I can have a laugh and joke with them." Another said, "I don't worry who comes, I can't fault any of them."

People told us that they felt that the support they received from the service met their needs. One person said,"I am really pleased with them, they go out of their way to help." Another person said, "They have been marvellous, I will be sorry to lose them." Another said, "I have no complaints whatsoever." Another said, "I am more than happy with the carers, they are very very good, excellent. On time in the morning and do a good job, it will be a shame to lose them, they (care workers) are always cheerful."

We looked at the care records of ten people who used the service and found that people experienced care, treatment and support that met their needs and protected their rights. We found that the service worked with other professionals involved in people's care to ensure that they were provided with a safe and consistent service.

We found that care workers were provided with the training that they needed to meet the needs of the people who used the service.

The provider had systems in place to assess and monitor the service that people received.