We did this inspection because we received information that there was a breakdown of communication at the care service. The concerns listed included information that staff were not being properly trained, that calls were often missed and that care workers did not have enough information about the care needed by people they would be visiting. We were told that the on-call telephone was not always answered. We visited the office where we spoke with the manager and two staff as well as looking at three people's care records and four staff records. After our visit to the office we spoke on the telephone with six people who used the service (or members of their family) and with seven staff.
People with experience of using Abicare for themselves or their relatives were generally positive about the service they received. One person's relative told us 'I can't speak highly enough of them'. People felt that their care was dealt with safely and that they were treated in a respectful way. People made comments such as 'they are an absolutely fantastic bunch of people' and that they were 'more than happy' with the service. Two people told us they had recommended the agency to other people.
Some people who used the service and some staff did not feel that messages were always passed on or dealt with quickly enough. One person who used the service told us, 'the carers are excellent but the organisation from the office can be a problem'. Another person told us that the office staff were 'quite pleasant but you don't always feel they are taking notice'. Some staff said that the office telephone was not always answered and the on call one was not always responded to either.
The care workers we spoke with were also generally positive and said that on the whole they felt equipped to provide people with the care they needed. All of the care workers we spoke with considered that people using Abicare generally received a good or very good service. They confirmed that they had received induction training and some said they had since received refresher training in important topics such as medication and moving and handling. In some cases however care workers said that they had not received follow up training since their initial induction. The information that was available in staff records did not assure us that care workers received the full range of training that they may need in their work.
In speaking to some of the care workers we learned that there was not always written information available in people's homes to guide them regarding the correct care to provide.
The staff recruitment records we checked did not provide evidence that all of the expected checks had been done by the agency before certain staff had started providing care to people.
Abicare does not have a registered manager at present. The previous registered manager left in November 2011. There was an acting manager in post when we did this inspection. They were not aware whether on not head office had plans to arrange for them to be registered. They were not aware of their individual responsibility to apply to be registered. No evidence was made available on the day of our inspection to show that senior managers from the organisation were overseeing the management of the service. The acting manager was not aware of any quality monitoring audits or reports by their line manager. There was no evidence that the organisation had identified the shortfalls we found during our visit.