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Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales
Care Standards Act 2000
Inspection Report
Wrexham County Borough Council Employment Agency
Greenacres
Rhosddu Road
Wrexham
LL11 2NW
Type of Inspection – Focused
Date(s) of inspection – Tuesday, 24 February 2015
Date of publication – 28 March 2015
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Summary
About the service
Wrexham Borough Council Employment Agency is managed by Ann Chadd who also has
responsibility for one other domiciliary care services operated by Wrexham Council. The
remit of the employment agency is to operate a system of recruitment and selection for
people wishing to work for people funded by direct payments. The Responsible Individual
is Andrew Figiel.
What type of inspection was carried out?
We, Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales, (CSSIW), carried out an announced
focussed inspection on the 24 February 2015 between 11.45 am and 3.45 pm. We
discussed the processes in place with the registered manager and vetting agency
coordinator. We also reviewed the statement of purpose and looked at records related to
the recruitment of individuals.
What does the service do well?
The agency has a pool of staff that are able to work at short notice. Information is shared
with the out of hour’s social work team in case a service is required outside office hours.
The agency devise a personal profile of the applicant, including a photograph to give
people who use direct payments an opportunity to choose staff who have common
interests. This increases the likelihood of a successful match.
What has improved since the last inspection?
There have been no improvements since the last inspection.
What needs to be done to improve the service?
No non compliance issues were identified.
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Quality Of Life
Overall, we found that the vetting system in place is robust and safe. The agency works
in partnership with a third party organisation that also provides information to people who
use direct payments. The agency is well organised and provides a good service for
people who use direct payments and for those looking for work.
People living in their homes who use direct payments to choose and employ their own
workers are able to use the agency to make sure that workers are suitable. The agency
carries out rigorous recruitment checks including references, a Disclosure and Barring
Service check, (DBS), (formerly CRB) and a face to face interview. We saw records that
confirmed that these checks had been carried out. Records were very well organised.
Suitable people are then placed on a register that was available for people who use
direct payments. Staff at the agency also set up a personal profile for workers, this
includes interests and hobbies. This can be used by people who use direct payments so
that they can take this into account when they are considering who to employ if they are
looking for someone with similar interests.
People using the agency can be confident that suitable people can be employed at short
notice. This is because potential workers are asked about their availability and
experience and this is recorded on a register. The register is updated regularly. It is also
made available to the out of hour’s social work team. This means that people using the
agency can be confident that staffing needs could be met quickly, including outside
normal office hours when the agency is closed.
People who use the agency are asked for their views about both the agency and the staff
that provide support to them. The registered manager told us that questionnaires were
sent out every year but that responses were not received. People were made aware in
the statement of purpose how to raise any concerns about the service. The registered
manager told us that no complaints had been received since the last inspection.
People can be confident that workers on the register have the right skills and
qualifications. The statement of purpose makes clear the qualifications workers are
expected to have or to complete training in. All workers on the register are required to
undertake mandatory training or training updates in moving and handling, emergency
first aid, infection control. Basic food hygiene, safeguarding adults and basic child
protection. It is the responsibility of the person receiving direct payments to make sure
that workers undertake specialised training for example training about particular medical
conditions. The agency has systems in place to monitor this and workers are reminded
when training is due to expire.
People can be confident that systems are in place to monitor the quality of the service
provided by the agency. This is done by asking people their views and through contact
with self advocacy groups. The agency also works closely with social workers who are
able to raise any issues on behalf of people who use the service.
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Quality Of Staffing
This section is not applicable as the agency does not employ staff.
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Quality Of Leadership and Management
CSSIW did not consider it necessary to look at the quality of leadership and management
on this occasion. However, this theme will be considered at future inspections.
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Quality Of The Environment
This section is not relevant to the work of the agency as care is provided within private
homes.
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How we inspect and report on services
We conduct two types of inspection; baseline and focussed. Both consider the experience
of people using services.
Baseline inspections assess whether the registration of a service is justified and
whether the conditions of registration are appropriate. For most services, we carry out
these inspections every three years. Exceptions are registered child minders, out of
school care, sessional care, crèches and open access provision, which are every four
years.
At these inspections we check whether the service has a clear, effective Statement of
Purpose and whether the service delivers on the commitments set out in its Statement
of Purpose. In assessing whether registration is justified inspectors check that the
service can demonstrate a history of compliance with regulations.
Focused inspections consider the experience of people using services and we will look
at compliance with regulations when poor outcomes for people using services are
identified. We carry out these inspections in between baseline inspections. Focussed
inspections will always consider the quality of life of people using services and may look
at other areas.
Baseline and focused inspections may be scheduled or carried out in response to concerns.
Inspectors use a variety of methods to gather information during inspections. These may
include;
Talking with people who use services and their representatives
Talking to staff and the manager
Looking at documentation
Observation of staff interactions with people and of the environment
Comments made within questionnaires returned from people who use services, staff and
health and social care professionals
We inspect and report our findings under ‘Quality Themes’. Those relevant to each type of
service are referred to within our inspection reports.
Further information about what we do can be found in our leaflet ‘Improving Care and
Social Services in Wales’. You can download this from our website, Improving Care and
Social Services in Wales or ask us to send you a copy by telephoning your local CSSIW
regional office.
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