We carried out a review of the data available to us about Able Living Care Services Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Able Living Care Services Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
Able Living Care Service is a domiciliary care service, providing people with care and support in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection, there were 54 people using the service, 30 of those people were receiving help with personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they were happy with the service they received and felt safe. They said staff were kind and friendly. Safeguarding adults’ procedures were in place and staff understood how to protect people from abuse. Recruitment processes ensured new staff were suitable to work for the agency and people were involved in selecting suitable staff. There were enough numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs in a punctual, consistent and flexible way and to ensure their safety. People received their medicines when they needed them from staff who had been trained and had their competency checked. The registered manager was developing the competency assessment process. Risk assessments were carried out to enable people to retain their independence and receive support with minimum risk to themselves or others.
People were given choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People’s care and support needs were assessed prior to them using the service to ensure their needs could be met. Arrangements were in place to ensure staff received ongoing training, supervision and support. People were supported at mealtimes in line with their support plan and staff worked in partnership with healthcare professionals, when needed.
The values of the service were known to staff and people using the service. Staff told us they received support from management and they felt valued. The culture of the service was open and transparent and people were empowered to voice their opinions. Without exception, people told us the service was well-managed and they would not hesitate to recommend it to others.
Management and staff had developed friendly, caring and respectful relationships with people using the service and their families. Staff knew about people’s backgrounds and about their routines and preferences; this made sure people’s care was tailored to their specific needs. People, or their family members, had been consulted about their care needs and had been involved in the support planning process. People had access to a range of activities in line with their support plan and this area was being developed further. People did not have any complaints about the service they received; they were aware of how they could raise any complaints, concerns and compliments and had access to a complaint’s procedure.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 01 December 2016).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
The service had not been inspected previously.
Able Living Services provides care and support to people aged 18 and over, older people, people living with dementia and people with physical disabilities in their own homes. The agency operates from premises in the village of Poynton.
Able Living Services has a registered manager in post, who also provided personal care to people. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. This inspection focussed on the domiciliary care provided by Able Living Services. This service currently provides personal care and support for fourteen people within their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service offered support to 35 people, however only fourteen people received care and support which involved an activity the provider was registered for with the Care Quality Commission.
The people who used the service and their relatives told us that they were treated with respect and kindness by the staff. Comments included, “They respect my wishes and commands. They do things exactly as I like. They notice little things” and “They are really lovely, they are interested in me, not just in and out and they remember facts about me”. People told us that the staff were always on time.
There were sufficient staff to complete the visits scheduled for each person and the manager did not accept any additional visits if she did not have the staff in place to complete these. Travel time was factored into staff schedules and they had sufficient time to move between visits. Visit times were recorded in the daily records and these were checked each week by the senior carer and people knew to contact the office with any problems. No concerns had been made to the provider about missed calls.
Arrangements were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. We spoke to staff about their understanding of safeguarding and they knew what to do if they suspected that someone was at risk of abuse or they saw signs of abuse. People using the service reported that they felt safe and their relatives told us that they were confident that their relatives were safe and supported by the staff of Able Living Care Services.
We looked at recruitment files for the most recently appointed staff members to check that effective recruitment procedures had been completed. We found that appropriate checks had been made to ensure that they were suitable to work with vulnerable adults.
The care files that we looked at contained the detailed relevant information that staff needed to care for the person including their preferences. It was clear through discussions with staff that they knew the people they were supporting very well. It was a small organisation which meant that people generally were supported by a consistent team of carers that enabled them to build up positive relationships.
Discussions with staff members identified that they felt happy and supported in their roles. They told us that the registered manager was supportive and they felt that they could contact her and approach her at any time.
The service had a quality assurance system in place which used various checks and audit tools such as audits and spot checks to monitor and review the practices within the service. The manager also sought feedback from the people who used the service. The registered manager was passionate about the service and constantly looking at different ways in which systems and processes could be improved.