Latest Inspection Report Praises Aberdeenshire's Local Homecare & Housing Support

Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership’s Homecare and Housing Support Service has been rated very good by the Care Inspectorate in their latest inspection report.

Following an unannounced inspection in November the service received the second highest rating of 5 (very good) for both quality of staffing and quality of care and support.

The Homecare and Housing Support Service provides support to assist people to live in their own homes for as long as possible, preventing the need for residential care.

In its report the Care Inspectorate said the service works well with other services and has been involved in developing an integrated approach to care. They highlighted that employees felt the partnership with the NHS meant they can now react quicker to situations and that communication is much improved.

The report went on to say the service had continued to develop since its last inspection. It has improved the recording processes and working with others has become more responsive. Systems are in place to monitor how they are improving outcomes for service users.

Home carers spoke positively about the training and support they had received especially training they were undertaking on enablement which would support them to improve the outcomes for service users.

The Care Inspectorate only had one recommendation for the service which was to consider if there was a better way of sharing information between employees and other services.

In response to this Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care believe the development of integrated teams and virtual community wards will help with communication with other professionals.

Chair of Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership’s Integration Joint Board, Cllr Anne Allan (SNP-Peterhead North & Rattray) said:

“The work undertaken by carers on behalf of the Partnership is at the heart of our strategy to keep people independent and living in their own homes for as long as possible. We all greatly appreciate the tremendous job they do in caring for the most vulnerable people in Aberdeenshire. It is a very demanding job but hopefully very rewarding. This report is great credit to all those who work in the service and it is good that their hard work is recognised by independent inspectors.

“There are 640 home carers employed to carry out 12,000 hours of care per week for adults and older people. In addition external providers are commissioned to carry out 9000 hours of care per week.”

Vice Chair of Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership’s Integration Joint Board, Dr Lynda Lynch said:

“As life expectancy increases for people with a range of health and social care needs, the demand on services is also increasing. At the same time, there is a clear message from service users that wherever possible they want personalised support delivered in their own homes, rather than in institutional settings.

“Recent developments in the service including the introduction of a rehabilitation and enablement team, the ARCH (Aberdeenshire Responders for Care at Home) service, and the Priority Discharge Team all help to support people to regain skills and maximise independence. This helps to relieve pressures on Care Homes and Hospital beds across Aberdeenshire.”