Archived: Always There (Leicester)

Updated 2 March 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.’

This inspection took place on 15 January 2016. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available to meet with us.

The inspection team consisted of an inspector and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Our experience by experience for this inspection had experience of the needs of people using domiciliary care services.

Before the inspection we reviewed the provider’s statement of purpose and the notifications we had been sent. A statement of purpose is a document which includes a standard required set of information about a service. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that providers must tell us about. We also spoke with staff from the local authority who contract with this service.

We used a variety of methods to inspect the service. We spoke with six people using the service, 10 relatives, the registered manager, the regional director, and four care workers.

We looked at records relating to all aspects of the service including care, staffing and quality assurance. We also looked in detail at the care records of four people using the service.

Updated 2 March 2016

We carried out this inspection on 15 January 2016.

Always There (Leicester) is owned by Always There Homecare Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carewatch Care Services Limited. The agency provides personal care to people in their own homes. The service specialises in supporting older and younger adults including people with dementia, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorders, mental health needs, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments, people detained under the Mental Health Act, and people who misuse drugs and alcohol,

At the time of our inspection there were 94 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager. This is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People using the service and relatives said they thought the agency provided safe care. They gave us examples of how staff supported people safely and looked after their physical and mental well-being.

Staff were safely recruited to ensure they were fit to work with people using care services and people said they trusted the staff. Staff were knowledgeable about the people they cared for and had a good understanding of how best to support them.

People told us staff supported them to have enough to eat and drink by preparing and serving the food they liked. Staff were aware of people’s health care needs and knew when to call out a doctor if one was needed. Health care professionals provided staff with extra training if people needed support with particular medical conditions.

All the people using the service and relatives we spoke with commented on how caring the staff were and all the staff we spoke had a caring approach to the people they supported. Staff told us they found their work rewarding because they were encouraged to build relationships with the people they supported and take an interest in their lives.

People told us staff listened to them and encouraged them to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care and support. Relatives said they had the opportunity to be involved in their family member’s care if this was what their family member wanted. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and encouraged them to make choices about how they wanted their support provided.

Records showed that people received personalised care that met their needs. Care plans were focused on people’s views and how they wanted things done. People’s hopes and ambitions had also been included in care plans so staff could help them to achieve the lifestyles they wanted.

The agency supported people from a range of cultural backgrounds. The multilingual staff team were able to meet the diverse communication needs of many people using the service. People’s preferences for staff of a particular gender were respected and people’s religious and dietary needs were met.

People using the service and relatives told us they thought the agency was well-led. They said staff listened to them and provided an individual and flexible service. Staff told us they were proud to work for the agency and would recommend it to others.

Records showed the agency actively sought feedback from the people using the service and relatives through questionnaires, telephone monitoring, and face to face meetings. People were listened to when they made suggestions and the agency acted on these.

The agency had a culture of openness and people using the service and relatives said they found the staff and managers approachable. Records showed the agency was committed to continually improving its service by promoting best practice in care and support.

We found that people using the service and their relatives had a high regard for this agency. All the people we spoke with were satisfied with all aspects of the service and made many positive comments about the staff and the quality of care provided. We did not receive one criticism or negative comment about the agency from anyone we spoke with.