About the service:

START South (Short Term Assessment and Reablement Team) service provides care and support for people who need immediate support to live independently in their own home; this may be as a result of a crisis or illness, or following a discharge from hospital. They provide short term support for people to regain independence or identify if people require a permanent care provider to meet their longer term care needs. In addition, this service also supports the HICT (Holistic Intermediate Care Team) service which supports people with dementia, and require an input from a team of professionals including Occupational Therapists and Admiral Nurses (specialist dementia nurses). At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 43 people.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ People and relatives told us they felt safe and that staff were kind and caring. We heard comments such as, “Very nice, lovely, absolutely fabulous and friendly.” However, staff and people told us that their care wasn’t always consistent regarding changes with staff attending calls.

¿ Staff completed all relevant training for their roles, however some staff had not completed refresher training. This meant that some staff may not be trained with the most up to date information. The manager agreed to ensure all staff required were booked on refresher training.

¿ People’s safety was promoted. Staff had received training in safeguarding and knew how to protect them from abuse.

¿ Potential risks to people was continuously assessed, managed and regularly reviewed. Care plans provided staff with clear guidance to support the person safely.

¿ People were placed at the centre of their support and were consulted about their care.

¿ Respect for privacy and dignity was adhered to by staff. People and staff felt respected and listened to.

¿ People received personalised care and support specific to their needs and preferences. Every person was respected as an individual, with their own social and cultural diversity, values and beliefs. People had their human rights upheld.

¿ Staff gained people’s consent before providing personal care and support.

¿ People were supported to access appropriate healthcare when required.

¿ People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint. There was a system in place to respond to complaints and advocacy support was available.

¿ People received their medicines correctly and were supported to self-administer when possible.

¿ Quality audits were completed to ensure consistent good quality care.

This service met the characteristics of Good in all areas. More information is available in the 'Detailed Findings' below.

Rating at last inspection:

This was the first inspection of the service since their registration on 19 April 2018 with the Care Quality Commission.

Why we inspected:

This inspection was a planned inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk