Alexandra House Diamond Life Healthcare Ltd

Updated 2 February 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

One inspector carried out the inspection supported by an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type:

The provider is a domiciliary care agency. People receive a personal care service within their own home and this is regulated by CQC.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

Inspection site visit activity was announced so that we would be sure that someone was in the office. It started and ended on 10 January 2019.

What we did:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection, we spoke with six people who used the service and two relatives to ask about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two members of staff including the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people's care records. We also looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment, training and supervision records. We looked at records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 2 February 2019

What life is like for people using this service:

People were safe in their home and there were enough staff to fulfil the visits to people.

People received the medicines they needed safely.

Staff understood their responsibilities about keeping people safe.

Risks were identified and managed well. Incidents and accidents were monitored to inform practice and make improvements to the service.

Staff understood their responsibilities to prevent the spread of infection whilst working between people’s homes.

Staff had received the training and support they needed to carry out their roles well. People had confidence in the staff and were content with the care they received.

Risks associated with nutritional needs were identified and managed. People received the support they needed to have a healthy diet.

People were supported to access health care services when they needed to. Staff described positive working relationships with health care professionals.

Staff supported people to remain independent and promoted their dignity. People's privacy was respected and their personal information was kept securely.

There was a clear management structure that supported staff well.

Governance arrangements were embedded within practice. Regular audits identified any shortfalls in provision of care.

More information is in Detailed Findings below

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published June 2016)

About the service: Alexandra House Diamond Life Healthcare Limited provides care and support to people in their own homes.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remained rated Good overall

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.