Warrington Borough Council Intermediate Care at Home is a domiciliary care service provided by the local authority. The service is managed from premises in Irwell Road Warrington and provides intermediate, and rehabilitative personal care across the Borough Council area.

At our last inspection in January 2016 the service was rated Good overall. At this inspection we found the service remained good in all aspects of service delivery. The service continues to provide safe, effective, caring, and responsive and well led services to the people who live within Warrington Borough Council area.

All the people we spoke with on the telephone or visited as part of the inspection told us that they received good quality care that met their individual needs and personal preferences. They told us that staff were skilled in providing care that took account of the way they wanted things to be done. They reported that the staff were well trained, professional but caring and sensitive in their approach. The only criticism we received from the people who used the service and their relatives was that continuity of care could be improved. We could see that there had been occasions when care was provided by staff who the person had previously not met or been introduced to. They told us that this had not caused any problems other than they missed the comfort that familiarity with their carers would bring. This, they said, was because the staff were skilled in their approach and knew how to respect people’s privacy and dignity.

We found that the manager and her team of staff were continually monitoring the quality of service provided and strived to ensure that improvements were made where possible. They had already recognised that improvements needed to be made regarding the continuity of care and we could see that they were working collaboratively with the people who used the service and staff to ensure that improvements were made.

The staff presented as a well-supported team that benefited from clear and effective leadership and support. We could see that the service was built on firm foundations and was well placed to continue to provide safe and effective care that people valued and benefited from.

Further information is in the detailed findings below