A LIVE-IN care-at-home service in Tidworth has been highly praised by inspectors, who said staff spoke about service users with “warmth and affection”.

Oxleycare Limited, based in Aspire Business Centre, was rated ‘good’ in all areas by inspectors during a recent inspection.

At the time of of the inspection 29 people were receiving personal care from the provider.

In the Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, inspectors were told by people and their representatives staff understood their needs.

It added: “Comments included, ‘I am very pleased with Oxleycare, I think they provide an excellent service’ and I feel very lucky to have such a lovely girl here, I don’t know how she puts up with me.

“The registered manager told us they put a lot of effort into matching people with staff.

“This was particularly important as the staff were providing live-in care and spending up to a month living with the person.”

Due to the nature of the work, the registered manager said they relied on regular calls to support and guide their personnel.

Staff confirmed this and said they felt ‘well supported’.

They added new staff completed an induction and they received regular training, which was provided in a variety of formats including online, external qualifications and specialist sessions.

Inspectors also found people and their relatives were confident the service was safe.

The provider was able to show inspectors staff were thoroughly checked before starting to provide care and not only were there sufficient staffing levels but alternative arrangements were made promptly if staff were unable to complete their work.

On whether the service was caring, people and relatives told inspectors they were treated well and staff were kind.

The report added: “Comments included, ‘(my carer) is very nice and I appreciate her hard work, I don’t know how they do it, they have so much patience’; ‘I love my carer she is so kind’.”

Staff showed inspectors they had developed a strong relationship with people and “spoke about them with warmth and affection”.

People, or their representatives, were involved in decision making and people were supported to have annual review meetings.

Inspectors added: “The registered manager told us they tried to promote good manners and high standards from staff. They said dignity and respect were regularly discussed and was a strong focus in the induction of new staff.”

Although the CQC report was overall very positive about the service, inspectors found one instance where a person’s records was not entirely clear.

Records on a person who lacked the capacity to make some decisions had been completed well but some of the information was “difficult to understand” and did not follow The Mental Capacity Act’s principles.

However the registered manager was aware of the issue and was in the process of developing new care planning documentation.

A service spokesperson said: “We are very pleased that our recent ‘good’ report from the CQC gives due recognition to the quality of service we are able to provide.”