Adelfi Care Services

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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.

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

We received positive views about the service from people and their relatives. One person’s relatives told us: “It has been a great success. [Person] lives on [their] own and would not be able to stay at home. They come four times a day. They have given us lots of ideas and tips which we probably would not have known about. I can’t fault them at all. We are all very happy. I can’t thank them enough for their professionalism and the care they are giving [person].”

People received care which was safe, and staff understood how to support people to maintain their safety. People's medicines were administered safely and as prescribed. The provider checked the suitability of new staff through recruitment processes. Staff used personal protective equipment (PPE) when supporting people to reduce the risk of infection.

People received compassionate care and they felt respected and valued as individuals. Staff exceeded expectations to ensure people's needs were met and they were comfortable and safe. One person’s relative told us: “Everything that is possible to do is done for [person]. If they go to a wedding, they bring [person] a piece of cake. At Christmas [staff] made Christmas dinner for everyone who was on their own.”

The registered manager and management team offered exceptional leadership and had a clear vision about the service. There were robust quality assurance systems in place to ensure people received the best possible service which was person centred to their needs and wishes. The registered manager worked closely with people, their representatives, partner agencies and services and the community to promote best practice within the service and make a positive impact to people's lives.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 14 July 2022) and there was a breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulation.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Adelfi Care Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 30 and 31 May 2022. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe recruitment practices.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow up

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

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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.

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

People who used the service and their relatives praised the caring nature of staff and managers and told us they felt safe.

We found some improvements were needed to ensure safe recruitment practices were followed and that audits were fully effective in identifying and addressing quality and safety concerns in areas of staff recruitment.

We did not find that these shortfalls had impacted on people's care. We made a recommendation to support the monitoring of recruitment practice.

People received care and support from a consistent staffing team. Staff praised the support they received and how this promoted person centred care.

People’s care plans provided staff with the information they needed to support people and to understand their preferences and choices and manage identified risks.

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.

Systems were in place for people to raise concerns and for the registered manager to receive feedback from people who used the service. This enabled them to monitor the quality of the service being provided to people.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us in April 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This service had not been inspected since their registration; therefore, this inspection was carried out to gain assurances about the quality of care and systems used to monitor and manage the service.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified a breach in relation to safe recruitment practices.

We made a recommendation to support the monitoring of recruitment practice.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.