About the service:

Thurrock Branch, referred to as Pineapple Care in this report, is a domiciliary care agency that was providing personal care to 60 people at the time of the inspection. It supports people with different needs and backgrounds. Including people with mobility needs, mental health needs, learning disabilities and dementia.

People’s experience of using this service:

People, relatives, staff and external healthcare professionals spoke highly of Pineapple Care. The service had strong person-centred values and placed people at the heart of their work. People had access to a stable staff team they knew well and achieved positive outcomes and strong relationships.

People were fully involved in their care and their wishes respected. People’s views were sought and their consent was always gained before any care took place. People were offered as many choices as possible in ways which met their individual needs. For example, staff had used innovative ideas to ensure one person who did not speak English was involved in their care in a way which respected their abilities.

People’s care plans contained personalised information which detailed how they wanted their care to be delivered. Staff knew people well and expressed care and affection for them when speaking with us.

Staff were highly valued and supported by Pineapple Care and the registered manager. All staff we spoke with were proud to work for the service and praised the high standards of care expected.

Risks to people’s health, safety and wellbeing were assessed and management plans were put in place to ensure these were reduced as much as possible. During the inspection we identified some risks assessments which had not been completed but these were created and implemented immediately following our feedback.

People were protected from potential abuse by staff who had received training and were confident in raising concerns. There was a thorough recruitment process in place that checked potential staff were safe to work with people who may be vulnerable.

There was strong leadership at the service and people, relatives and staff spoke highly of the registered manager. There was a positive culture at the service and staff felt their voices were listened to.

People were supported by kind and caring staff who worked hard to promote their independence and sense of wellbeing. We were given examples of the staff going above and beyond for people. For example, by developing innovative ways to improve their self-esteem. Staff were provided with the training, supervision and support they needed to care for people well.

The registered manager was passionate about improving the service and had plans for future projects to benefit people. There were quality assurance systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided.

More information is in the full report

Rating at last inspection: This is the first time this service has been inspected.

Why we inspected: This inspection was scheduled based on the registration date of the service.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the intelligence we receive about the service.