Background to this inspection
Updated
26 September 2018
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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.
This inspection took place on 3 and 4 July 2018. The provider was given 48 hours' notice because the registered manager may have been out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be available.
Before the inspection, we checked for any notifications made to us by the provider and the information we held on our database about the service and provider. Statutory notifications are pieces of information about important events which took place at the service, such as safeguarding incidents, which the provider is required to send to us by law. We reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR). The PIR provides key information about the service, what the service does well and the improvements the provider plans to make. We also spoke to the main commissioning body for the service.
The inspection was carried out by two adult social care inspectors and two experts 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. Their involvement was limited to phoning people using the service and their relatives to ask them their views of the service.
There were 165 people using the service at the time of our inspection visit. As part of the inspection we spoke with 15 people using the service and nine relatives. We also spoke with nine care staff, the registered manager, the operations manager, the operations director and the quality manager.
We looked at care records for six people using the service to see if they were up-to-date and reflective of the care which people received. We also looked at recruitment records for six members of staff, including details of their training and supervision. We looked at a range of quality audits, safeguarding records, staff meeting minutes and incident and accident records.
Updated
26 September 2018
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to a range of adults living in their own homes with a broad range of physical, mental health and learning disability needs.
We last inspected Alina Homecare North London on 5, 6, 7 and 8 June 2017 and the service was rated requires improvement. Since the last inspection there has been a change in the provider’s company name. Alina Homecare Barnet was first registered in June 2017 and originally comprised certain acquired homecare branches covering the boroughs of Haringey, Brent and Barnet. This means that although the agency has been registered as a new service, there is a clear link between an archived provider and the currently registered one.
The service had a registered manager in post. 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.
People told us the care they received was of a good standard and that they valued the support of their carers. People's feedback about their experience of the service was positive. People said staff treated them respectfully and asked them how they wanted their care and support to be provided. Staff arrived on time and stayed for the allotted time and if carers were running late most people were notified of this.
People told us there was a stable staff team and that care was provided by familiar carers. Staff told us that travel times were sufficient, so they were not rushed.
People were supported to take their medicines safely and in accordance with the prescribed instructions. The service worked with healthcare services to deliver effective care and support.
Care records were comprehensive, up to date and person centred providing a holistic view of people’s needs. Risk assessments provided detailed advice for staff to minimise harm. These included any environmental risks in people's homes and any risks in relation to the care and support needs of the person. People told us they were involved in decisions about their care and were aware of their care plans. Staff were knowledgeable about the people they cared for and responded appropriately as people's needs changed.
People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. There were processes in place at service and provider level to monitor the quality of the service and ensure continuous improvement in quality. Reviews of care, regular spot check visits and phone calls had been made to people using the service and their relatives to obtain feedback about the staff and the care provided. The provider had sent out and acted on feedback following quality surveys to make continuous improvement.
Staff recruitment was safe and staff were supported to meet people’s needs through a combination of comprehensive induction, supervision and training. Regular staff meetings took place so staff were able to contribute to how the service was run and were kept informed. The provider supported staff well and this helped with continuity of care to people.
Staff wore protective clothing such as gloves and aprons when needed. This reduced the risk of cross infection. Supplies were readily available at the office for staff to take as needed.
The service listened and responded to people’s concerns and complaints, and used this to improve the quality of care. The service learnt lessons and made improvements when things went wrong.