We assessed this service from 17 June to 30 June 2025. This service is a domiciliary care agency providing support to older people, people living with dementia, people with mental health conditions, people with physical disabilities and people with sensory impairments. The service supported people for short periods of time to assist them to regain their independence. The team was worked with health organisations and part of the team’s remit was to support timely discharges from hospital. This inspection was prompted due to the length of time since our last inspection. At the time of the inspection, 85 people were receiving support from the service. People were involved in the assessment of their care needs and staff considered people’s preferences, wishes and goals. People benefitted from a joined-up approach where staff worked closely with the hospital and health staff to ensure they received the right support, from the right professional at the right time. People were supported to reach their goals of regaining their independence. The service had achieved a high success rate of enabling people to regain their skills and this led to them not requiring long term support. Staff made sure people understood the purpose of the service and people were fully involved and consulted on their care. Leaders and staff had a shared vision and positive working culture, which put the person at the centre of any decisions being made. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive. Leaders worked flexibly to remove barriers to ensure people achieved their desired outcome. They worked collaboratively with the stroke team, speech and language therapy, district nurses and therapists to ensure the right decision was made with the person to achieve the best outcome.
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North Short Term & Urgent Support, a local authority re-enablement and rapid-response homecare service, was rated Good overall at its July 2016 inspection, with an Outstanding rating for well-led reflecting strong leadership, robust quality assurance, and an 87.8% re-enablement success rate. No regulatory breaches or significant failure themes were identified, with all five key questions meeting or exceeding expectations.
Strengths
· Strong, visible leadership with a clear service vision and robust quality assurance systems driving continuous improvement.
· High re-enablement success rate: 87.8% of completers required no further input (April 2015–March 2016).
· Person-centred, detailed care records with weekly reviews and individualised objective-setting.
· Excellent staff morale supported by regular supervision, appraisals, and direct recognition from senior managers.
· Effective multi-disciplinary partnership working with occupational therapists, physiotherapists, district nurses, GPs and community services.
Quality-Statement breakdown (21)
safe: Staffing and continuityGood
safe: SafeguardingGood
safe: Risk assessment and managementGood
safe: Medication managementGood
safe: Accident and incident managementGood
effective: Staff training and inductionGood
effective: Supervision and appraisalGood
effective: Mental Capacity Act complianceGood
effective: Nutrition, hydration and health needsGood
effective: Partnership workingGood
caring: Dignity and respectGood
caring: Involvement and consentGood
caring: Cultural and religious awarenessGood
caring: End of life careGood
responsive: Person-centred care planning and reviewGood
responsive: Complaints and compliments handlingGood
responsive: Flexibility and responsiveness to changing needsGood
well-led: Leadership vision and cultureOutstanding
well-led: Quality assurance systemsOutstanding
well-led: Staff engagement and developmentOutstanding
well-led: Service user feedback and service improvementOutstanding
North Short Term & Urgent Support, a reablement and rapid response domiciliary care service in Kirklees, was rated Requires Improvement overall at its May 2019 inspection, down from Good in 2016. Key failures included an unreported safeguarding concern, absent risk assessments, unclear medicines records, and significant gaps in governance auditing spanning most of 2018.
Concerns (6)
criticalSafeguarding: “a potential safeguarding concern had not been reported to the local authority safeguarding team”
criticalGovernance: “There were no completed audits in the folders for April, May and June 2018. There were no folders to evidence any audits had been completed between July and November 2018.”
moderateCare planning: “the support and goal plan for two people recorded they were being supported to use the stairs but there was no assessment to reduce the risk of harm”
moderateMedication management: “Information for supporting people with medicines was not always clear...There was insufficient information recorded regarding the management and application of people's creams.”
moderateRecord keeping: “some completed records were not always returned to the service. This meant not all records could be reviewed and audited to ensure people received consistently safe and effective care.”
minorStaff competency: “one support worker had not had an assessment as the call they completed when they were spot checked did not include medicines support”
Strengths
· People consistently reported feeling safe and staff demonstrated clear understanding of safeguarding responsibilities
· Staff recruitment was safe and sufficient staffing levels were maintained with effective rota management
· New staff received thorough induction and ongoing training and supervision were well-structured
· Care packages were personalised and care records included individual routines, goals and support requirements
· Staff were described as caring, kind and respectful, consistently promoting dignity and independence
Quality-Statement breakdown (23)
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseRequires improvement
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementRequires improvement
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Using medicines safelyRequires improvement
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawGood
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceGood
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietGood
effective: Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely careGood
effective: Supporting people to live healthier lives, access healthcare services and supportGood
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceGood
caring: Ensuring people are well treated and supported; respecting equality and diversityGood
caring: Supporting people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their careGood
caring: Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceGood
responsive: Planning personalised care to meet people's needs, preferences, interests and give them choice and controlGood
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsGood
responsive: End of life care and supportGood
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, and understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsRequires improvement
well-led: Planning and promoting person-centred, high-quality care and support with opennessGood
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staffGood
well-led: Continuous learning and improving careGood