- Homecare service
Alcedo Care Central and East Lancashire
Assessment report published 4 August 2025
Contents
On this page
- Overview
- Assessing needs
- Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
- How staff, teams and services work together
- Supporting people to live healthier lives
- Monitoring and improving outcomes
- Consent to care and treatment
Effective
Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.
This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.
This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.
Assessing needs
The service made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.
People had various assessments in place. People’s needs were comprehensively assessed, and when reviewing records, we found people, or their loved ones were involved in their care plan reviews.
People and their relatives (where appropriate) had been involved in developing their/their loved one’s care plan. One relative said, “I don’t believe she’s been involved in discussions about her care plan, but they discuss it with me and that’s ok” Staff told us they read people’s care plans to ensure they understand people’s needs.
Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
The service planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.
Generally, people felt they received the care they needed from the carers. One person said, “As far as I can tell, all the carers are well trained, and they know what they are doing when it comes to my care. Everything seems to run smoothly, and they provide support that meets my needs well.” Staff told us how they support people with their meals. One staff member said, “I will prepare meals for children - parents tell me what to cook.”
People’s dietary requirements were recorded in their care plans. We found healthcare referrals were being made where required.
How staff, teams and services work together
The service worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services.
Relatives felt they were kept updated with their loved ones’ health. One relative said, "What really reassures me is how on the ball they are with her health. If something isn’t right, they contact me straight away. There’s no delay, and it means I know she’s in safe hands." Staff said they communicated well with each other to ensure they work well together. One staff said, “I am always kept updated and staff are really good at communicating when things change." One professional told us, “The service, I feel, ensures that information is clear and kept up to date.” “I am confident that information I share that needs to be shared with the staff team will be shared with relevant staff who need to have access to the information to ensure continuity of care.”
Supporting people to live healthier lives
The service supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.
People had access to healthcare support when they needed it. Staff spoke about how they support people to live healthier lives. One staff member said, "We try to give or offer them healthier options with food and drinks."
Monitoring and improving outcomes
The service did routinely monitor people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it, though the service was not always quick to implement changes based on people’s feedback.
People and their relatives provided mixed feedback on people’s quality of life. One person said, “The carers are very responsive to my needs. If I ever have a small concern or something I want to change, I just mention it to the carers, and we sort it out together. They are flexible and understanding.” Whilst a relative told us “Her general care is consistent and reliable, but the service is not quick to adapt or follow up on requests – even when they are simple and in the best interests of the person receiving care.”
The registered manager told us how they review and monitor people’s care. People’s care plans had been reviewed. We saw evidence of people’s skin integrity being considered and if there were any concerns relating to someone’s weight appropriate referrals were made.
Consent to care and treatment
The service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.
People we spoke to said staff gained consent before providing care. One person told us, “They do ask for my agreement before carrying out any care and they always listen to what I want.” Staff understood consent, one staff member spoke about gaining consent before offering care. Consent forms were in place which covered various aspects of care.