Alina Homecare - Cheltenham

Updated 29 December 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.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced.

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 activity started on 24 November 2022 and ended on 30 November 2022. We visited the location’s office/service on 24 November 2022.

What we did before the inspection

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 reviewed the intelligence we held about the service and used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 5 September 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 people who used the service and 3 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 5 members of staff, including the registered manager, regional operations director, nominated individual, care ambassador and a care worker. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people's care records and medication records. We looked at electronic staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 29 December 2022

About the service

Alina Homecare–Cheltenham is a domiciliary care service providing the regulated activity of personal care. At the time of our inspection there were 9 people using the service. 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 received person-centred care from staff who were caring and knew people well.

People’s needs had been comprehensively assessed to ensure the service could meet their support requirements. The emotional and social needs of people were considered as part of their assessment and ongoing care reviews. People’s care plans provided staff with the information they needed to support people safely and effectively.

Systems were in place to safeguard people and to manage their personal risks. Staff were aware of their role to report any safeguarding concerns or changes in people’s health and well-being.

Sufficient numbers of safely recruited staff were available to support people. Contingency plans were in place to support people in the event of staff shortages or an emergency such as poor weather. People told us staff were reliable and communicated with them if they were running late.

Staff were trained and supported to carry out their role. The personal development and well-being of staff was valued and promoted by the provider and registered manager.

People and their relatives told us staff were kind and care was delivered in line with their choices and preferences. 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.

The views and feedback from staff and people who use the service was valued by the registered manager to help them drive improvements.

The provider and registered manager operated a number of quality monitoring systems which helped identify concerns, trends and drive improvement. Accidents, incidents and near misses were recorded and regularly reviewed. Lessons were learnt and improvements were made when incidents occurred.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

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 27 September 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

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