Adult care service receives glowing report

Councillor Jean Hornby, Cabinet Member for Adult Care at Rochdale Borough Council

A council service which helps people become independent again has been given the official thumbs up by the industry regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The STARS (Short term assessment and reablement) service received the glowing report following an unannounced inspection in December.

The service provides short term care and support in people’s homes to help them regain their independence and confidence following an incident such as a fall or hospital stay.

The report concluded that the service was meeting the standards in all areas, including respecting and involving people who use STARS and assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision.

The inspectors spoke to a number of staff, service users and their families during the inspection.

One service user said: “They encouraged me to do things for myself and start to build up my confidence. They did it in a manner that wasn’t pushy but encouraging when I needed reassurance.”

A member of staff added: “The training is excellent. I feel really confident. I always feel I have back up and someone at the end of a phone.”

The report highlighted the fact that visits are not timed and feedback from the service users backed this up, with many feeling that staff genuinely had time for them and that visits were not rushed.

Inspectors also praised the way that care was planned. They noted that each service user has a personal support plan, which is reviewed every fortnight. A care file is created for each person which is kept at their home and filled in by the personal assistant after every visit, so the next member of staff knows how they are progressing.

The high level of staff training was also praised with staff required to attend a number of courses including safeguarding, moving and handling and health and safety.

Councillor Jean Hornby, Cabinet Member for Adult Care at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “The experiences of the people who use our services drive everything we do, so it’s great to see such positive feedback reflected in this report. The staff work really hard and we’re very proud that the inspectors recognised the good work that they do.”