Council service given top marks by inspectors

A Shropshire Council service that help people to remain living in their own home for longer have been given top marks by health inspectors. 

The Short-Term Assessment and Reablement Team (START) was inspected by the Care Quality Commission and met the highest standards possible across the board.

START works with people to regain and maximise their independence by providing a ‘short burst’ of intensive support and assessing if there are any ongoing care needs.  If there are, the social worker will arrange for care to be provided by an independent home care provider.

The Care Quality Commission checks whether hospitals, care homes and care services are meeting essential standards, and carried out an unannounced inspection of the START service in January 2014.

Reports reach one of three judgements for each element of the inspection: “met the standard”, “action needed” or “enforcement action taken”.

START achieved the top mark (“met the standard”) for every part of the inspection.

In the report, inspectors said: “Everyone spoke positively about the care and support they received.  People told us they were “very happy”.  People who had finished with the service said that they valued the independence and confidence that they had gained.”

The report was highly positive about the staff, with people who used the service telling inspectors how much they appreciated the work of staff members.

Inspectors said: “People who received a service told us that staff were friendly and approachable.  One person told us, “I can’t praise them enough”.  Another person said, ‘they are all very professional’.”

Lee Chapman, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for adult services – transformation and safeguarding, said:

“We are really pleased with the result of this inspection, which reinforces what we already knew – that our staff are committed, hardworking and hugely valued by the people they support.

“It’s really heartening to see that inspectors were happy with all aspects of the service.  The report confirms that people get safe and appropriate care which meets their needs; staff are properly trained and supervised; and that quality-checking systems are in place to manage risks and assure the health, welfare and safety of people who receive care.”