Background to this inspection
Updated
9 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: Two inspectors carried out the inspection.
Service and service type: Alcester Health Centre provides personal care and support to people living in their own home. CQC regulates the personal care provided.
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: We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection because we needed to be sure the registered manager and other staff would be available to speak with us.
Inspection visit activity started on 14 January 2019 when we contacted people who used the service and/or their relatives by telephone. We visited the office location on 15 January 2019 to see the registered manager, speak to staff and to review care records and policies and procedures.
What we did when preparing for and carrying out this inspection: We reviewed information we had received about the service. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse. 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.
We spoke with three directors of the provider company, the registered manager and three members of care staff. We spoke with two people who used the service and three relatives by telephone. We also spoke to another relative whose family member had previously received care from the service.
We reviewed a range of records. For example, three people's care records. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service. These included systems for managing any complaints, and minutes of meetings with staff. We also saw the provider’s checks on the quality of care provided. For example, surveys completed by people.
Updated
9 February 2019
•What life is like for people using this service:
•Alcester Home Care’s leadership consisted of four directors, one of whom was the registered manager. One of the directors was a doctor and the registered manager was a nurse prescriber which facilitated effective working partnerships between primary and social care providers.
•The directors were committed to providing a good quality service. They had invested in staff and the infrastructure of the service to ensure people received a care package that was focussed on them and met their individual needs.
•Systems were in place to identify people’s individual safety risks and to promote people’s safety. The risk of accidental harm or infections was reduced as staff used the resources and equipment provided to do this.
•There were enough staff to enable people to have a consistent staff team who arrived when expected and stayed the allocated time.
•People's needs were assessed and staff received training and support which enabled them to provide care and support in line with best practice. Staff had received training to support people to take their medicines as prescribed. They had also received training in safeguarding and knew how to protect people from avoidable harm and abuse.
•People's right to make their own decisions about their care were supported by staff who understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
•Staff monitored people’s health and understood their responsibility to immediately obtain further advice or support if they noticed any changes or signs of illness. People received appropriate support to keep their health conditions stable which improved health outcomes for people.
•We received some extremely positive feedback from people who used the service, and their relatives, about the staff that visited them. People said staff were very caring and made a positive difference to their lives because they took time to know them and what mattered to them.
•People were provided with care and support which was individual to them and which was responsive to any changes in their needs.
•There was a strong emphasis on continuous improvement and seeking people’s views to measure the outcomes for people and identify where any changes in practice or improvements were needed.
•The quality assurance system ensured an outcome based service.
•The directors worked in partnership with other organisations to improve the pathways between acute and community services and were involved in a research based project regarding the use of technology in home care services.
• We found the service met the characteristics of a “Good” rating in all areas; More information is available in the full report
Rating at last inspection: This service was registered on 6 October 2017. This was their first inspection visit.
About the service: The service is a clinically led domiciliary care agency. It provides care to people who live in their own homes. There were ten people receiving a care package from the service at the time of the inspection.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration of the service.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.