14 August 2014
During a routine inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service.
Allied Healthcare Bristol is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own homes. This was an announced inspection, which meant the provider knew we would be visiting. This was because we wanted to make sure the registered manager, or someone who could act on their behalf, would be available to support the inspection.
There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law, as does the provider.
People told us they felt safe when staff visited them to provide care. A thorough recruitment procedure was operated to ensure suitable staff would be employed. Staff received training in safeguarding adults and knew what to do if they had any concerns that someone was being abused.
People’s rights were protected when they lacked the mental capacity to make their own decisions. This was because staff understood their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Action had been taken to reduce the risk of people being harmed when receiving care. This included assessing the use of equipment such as hoists to ensure it was safe when staff provided care to people in their own homes.
Staff received an induction and training so they were knowledgeable about people’s needs and competent when providing care. One person commented "Even the new ones are fine." Another person told us their care worker was "Helpful, friendly and knows exactly how I like the jobs carried out."
People received support with obtaining other services they needed in order to meet their health and care needs. This included making contact with health professionals such as the occupational therapist when people did not have the equipment they needed.
Staff were caring and had established good relationships with the people they cared for. People commented positively about the staff who visited them. Staff were described, for example, as "patient", "kind" and "caring". The feedback we received showed people and the care staff had been well matched, for example because there had been a shared interest in sport.
Staff stayed with people for the right amount of time and did the tasks expected of them. People felt the quality of care was good. However the arrival time of the staff was not always meeting people’s needs and expectations. This was being followed up in an action plan as part of the systems in place for assessing the quality of the service people received. These systems included gaining people’s views about the improvements they felt were needed.
The registered manager had identified a number of priorities for developing the service. This included establishing a staff team that worked well together. This was being achieved and staff told us they felt well supported in their work.