Alcedo Care Lancaster and Wyre

Updated 8 April 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and 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

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and treatment for disease, disorder and injury to people living in their own homes in the community.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there were two registered managers in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered managers would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 2 March 2022 and ended on 11 March 2022. We visited the location’s office on 2 March 2022. We contacted people who used the service, their relatives and care staff between 7 March 2022 and 11 March 2022 to gather their views.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with both registered managers of the service. We also spoke with two members of the provider’s Quality and Compliance Team. We contacted seven people who received support from the service and 14 people’s relatives. We also contacted five staff members to gather their views of the service.

Updated 8 April 2022

About the service

Alcedo Care Lancaster and Wyre provides personal care and treatment for disease, disorder and injury to people in their own homes. The service provides support to people in Lancaster, Wyre and South Lakeland areas. The service supported 76 people at the time of our inspection.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care or treatment for disease, disorder or injury. CQC only inspects where people receive a regulated activity. Personal care is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Treatment of disease, disorder or injury is treatment provided by, or under the supervision of, a health care professional related to disease, disorder or injury. Where people receive a regulated activity we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were safe and protected from abuse and avoidable harm. The registered managers identified risks to people’s safety and gave staff guidance on how to keep people safe. Staff followed robust infection prevention and control procedures to protect people from COVID-19 and other infections. The provider used safe procedures when new staff were recruited. There were enough staff to provide people’s care and support. Staff were trained to support people with their medicines. The provider had systems to learn from incidents to further improve the safety of the service.

The registered managers assessed people’s needs and people received the support they required. Staff were trained and skilled to provide people’s care. They supported people as they needed with preparing their meals and drinks. Staff identified if people required medical assistance and supported them to access appropriate healthcare services. People made decisions about their care and their rights were protected. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff were kind and caring towards people. Staff and the registered managers asked people for their views about their care and respected the decisions they made. Staff protected people’s privacy and dignity and promoted their independence.

People received person-centred care that met their needs and took account of their wishes. The provider had an effective procedure for receiving and managing complaints about the service. People received the support they needed at the end of their lives.

People knew the registered managers and said the service was well managed. The registered managers had developed a positive culture and staff provided people with person-centred care which met their needs. The provider and registered managers understood their responsibilities under the duty of candour. They had been open and honest with people when incidents occurred. People were asked for their views and said they would recommend the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection. This service was registered with us on 10 September 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.