Archived: Abelia Care Services Limited

Updated 29 June 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team: The service was inspected by one inspector.

Service and service type: This is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection site visit activity started on 10 June 2019 and ended on 18 June 2019. We visited the office location on 13 June 2019 to see the manager and office staff and some care staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did before inspection:

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 we assessed the information in the provider information return. This is key information providers are required to send us about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps inform our inspections.

During the inspection:

We spoke with three people who used the service, to ask about their experience of the care provided and two family members. We spoke with eight staff including the registered manager, care manager and six care staff. We also spoke with the nominated individual and a health professional [ moving and handling expert evaluator].

We reviewed a range of records about people's care and how the service was managed. This included looking at seven people's care records including their medicine records. We reviewed records of meetings, staff rotas and staff training records and two staff recruitment files. We also reviewed the records of accidents, incidents, complaints and quality assurance audits the management team had completed.

Updated 29 June 2019

Abelia Care Services is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to older adults, younger adults, physical disability, sensory impairment, mental health and dementia. At the time of our inspection, 29 people were using the service.

Not everyone using Abelia Care Services Ltd receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service:

People and their relatives were positive about the service and the care provided.

People were supported by staff who knew how to keep them safe and protect them from avoidable harm. Regular, knowledgeable staff met people's needs. People received their medicines regularly and systems were in place for the safe management of medicines. Incidents and accidents were investigated, and actions were taken to prevent recurrence. Staff followed infection control and prevention procedures.

People's needs were assessed, and care was delivered by staff who were well trained and knowledgeable about people's care and support needs. People had choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The management team and staff had a good understanding of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005), they had put in place the policies and systems in the service to support this.

People were cared for by staff who were kind and compassionate. People said staff were patient and caring towards them, and they felt like part of a family. People and their relatives felt involved and supported in decision making. People's privacy was respected, and their dignity maintained.

Staff were responsive to people's individual needs and wishes and had an in-depth knowledge about each person. Relatives confirmed staff knew their family members needs well. People's concerns were listened to and action was taken in a timely way.

The management team were open, approachable and focussed on providing person centred care. Systems were in place to monitor the quality of care provided. The management team and staff communicated effectively and shared a passion for quality care.

Rating at last inspection: Comprehensive inspection completed 21 April 2016. The overall rating was Good.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on previous rating of good.

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

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