Alpha Care and Support Services Limited

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the service met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

People received care and support which was based on their individual needs. People’s records reflected their choices and preferences, this enabled staff to deliver the care and support people wanted. A relative told us, “ The care plan is set out around [person’s] needs, it is regularly reviewed and we are always involved, we have a meeting this month.”

Care records contained personalised information about people’s likes and dislikes, and how they preferred staff to meet their care needs and wishes. Staff demonstrated good awareness of people’s individual needs and preferences were familiar with the term ‘person-centred’ and what this meant in relation to supporting people in their daily lives.

The provider undertook regular checks with people, and others involved in their care, to ask for their feedback about their care and support and whether this was continuing to meet their needs and made changes when this was required.

The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. Staff knew how to identify safety concerns and who to report them to in order to improve the quality of service people received.

There were systems for learning when things went wrong. People’s relatives told us they had been informed of accidents, incidents and other concerns. One relative told us how [person] had a fall on the stairs resulting in a grazed knee. When we discussed this further with the provider they explained [person] missed a step on the stairs which was noted as a near miss.

Following any accidents or incidents, the staff recorded these and they were investigated. The manager met with staff to discuss these and learn about how improvements could be made.

The manager had a system for tracking incidents and identifying themes.

People’s communication needs were assessed and recorded in their care plans and shared with staff to ensure these needs would be met.

Communication plans were in place that included information on how to communicate effectively with people and people’s preferred communication style. Staff understood people’s communication needs and adapted their approach. A staff member said, “I know how to follow the support and guidance for [person], I take my time to understand what [person] is asking for.” Another staff member told us, “I listen carefully to what they say and make sure I pay attention to their body language.” A relative confirmed, “The staff’s communication is good, [person] enjoys their company.”

The provider used pictorial rotas for people supported so they knew which member of staff was supporting them each day. The provider told us they were working towards more easy read formats for people supported so they could be more involved in their support planning.

The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. Staff knew how to identify safety concerns and who to report them to in order to improve the quality of service people received.

There were systems for learning when things went wrong. People’s relatives told us they had been informed of accidents, incidents and other concerns. One relative told us how [person] had a fall on the stairs resulting in a grazed knee. When we discussed this further with the provider they explained [person] missed a step on the stairs which was noted as a near miss.

Following any accidents or incidents, the staff recorded these and they were investigated. The manager met with staff to discuss these and learn about how improvements could be made.

The manager had a system for tracking incidents and identifying themes.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

Staff were respectful of people’s individual differences and their preferences and needs. Comments from staff included, “ I ensure [person] feels part of their local community , we go out daily and go to cafes, the library and all around the area” . “Clients we support are from different nationalities, different culture and different religions and we ensure we respect each individual’s cultural values.

Regular audits were carried out to ensure people were well cared for.

The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. Staff knew how to identify safety concerns and who to report them to in order to improve the quality of service people received.

There were systems for learning when things went wrong. People’s relatives told us they had been informed of accidents, incidents and other concerns. One relative told us how [person] had a fall on the stairs resulting in a grazed knee. When we discussed this further with the provider they explained [person] missed a step on the stairs which was noted as a near miss.

Following any accidents or incidents, the staff recorded these and they were investigated. The manager met with staff to discuss these and learn about how improvements could be made.

The manager had a system for tracking incidents and identifying themes.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.Future planning was discussed as part of peoples care planning. People were not receiving end of life care during the inspection The provider had policies in place to help guide staff on how to support people to express their preferences on end of life care if needed.