Working at Tikvah Woodpeckers

Staffing levels are enough for safe care, but shortfalls mean using extra hours from current staff, bank staff, and occasional agency workers.

Any shortfalls of staff were covered by staff working extra hours and bank staff, as necessary. The service sometimes used agency staff but made sure they always used workers who knew and were known to the people using the service.

Training includes mandatory topics and specialist areas like epilepsy, but records are inaccurate and supervision had fallen behind schedule.

Most mandatory training was up to date. However, the record was not entirely accurate as training that had been undertaken had not been acknowledged or recorded by the training department. Staff received formal supervision every eight weeks as a minimum but the programme had fallen short of the providers requirements.

There are outings, day care, and community activities, but no dedicated activities coordinator or specialist programmes to make the role more varied.

The service continued to provide people with a flexible activities programme which responded to their abilities, preferences, choices, moods and well-being. People went to organised day care activities a minimum of twice per week, with staff accompaniment, as necessary. People were offered outings, day trips and short holidays.