Archived: Allied Healthcare Macclesfield

Allied Healthcare Macclesfield is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults and younger disabled adults. This inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

At the time of our inspection, the service offered support to 60 people, however only 53 people were in receipt of the regulated activity ‘personal care’.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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. The registered manager had been promoted and there was an acting manager in place who was applying to be registered with the CQC. Both people were present during the inspection.

At our last inspection in May 2016, we found two breaches of the regulations in relation to recruitment and governance. The provider sent us an action plan of how they would address these shortfalls. At this inspection, we found that improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of the regulations.

Everyone spoke highly of the support they received from Allied Healthcare, how staff were not rushed, had time to chat as well as do all the tasks they wished. There were sufficient staff to complete the scheduled visits for each person and travel time was built into the staff rotas. They told us that generally staff arrived on time and they were contacted if there were going to be any delays. Visit times were noted on some occasions to be shorter than contracted. The manager looked into this and has confirmed since the inspection that this is now being closely monitored.

Medicines were managed safely and staff received appropriate training and their competency was checked on a regular basis. Medication audits were completed regularly and corrective action taken where any errors were found.

Risk assessments were in place that identified risks to people and what action staff should take to minimise these risks without restricting people unnecessarily.

Arrangements were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. We spoke to staff about their understanding of safeguarding and they could describe what action to take if they suspected that someone was at risk of abuse or they saw signs of abuse. People using the service reported that they felt safe and their relatives told us that they were confident that their family members were safe and supported by the staff of Allied Healthcare.

We looked at recruitment files for the most recently appointed staff members to check that effective recruitment procedures had been completed. We found that appropriate checks had been made to ensure that they were suitable to work with vulnerable adults.

People were consulted about their care and consent was recorded in the care files.

Staff received regular training and supervision to support them in their roles.

Care and support was provided by a consistent set of carers who knew the people they worked with well. Everyone we spoke with was positive about the approach of staff members. They spoke of staff being brilliant, professional and respectful.

The care files that we looked at contained the detailed relevant information that staff needed to care for the person including their preferences. It was clear through discussions with staff that they knew the people they were supporting well and they could provide consistent care to people and build up positive relationships.

Discussions with staff members identified that they felt happy and supported in their roles. They told us that the acting manager was supportive and they felt that they could contact them at any time.

Systems were in place to check the quality and safety of the service. Care reviews were completed at least annually with people and, if appropriate, their relatives. Surveys were completed annually to receive feedback about the service. Spot checks and observations were carried out with staff to ensure that the standards of care were maintained.

Allied Healthcare Macclesfield is a domiciliary care agency that provides domiciliary care and support to a range of people in their own homes. The range of support provided includes assistance with personal care, domestic duties, laundry tasks, shopping, and meal preparation.

We previously inspected the service in May 2013 when we found they were meeting all the regulations we looked at.

At the time of the inspection there was a manager at Allied Healthcare Macclesfield but she had not yet been registered with the Care Quality Commission. The manager started her post in October 2015 and provided evidence to the inspection team that she had applied to be the registered manager, however this process had not yet been completed.

A registered manager 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.

During this inspection we found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take as the back of the full version of the report.

At the time of our inspection the service was providing the regulated activity of personal care to 53 people.

The provider did not have an effective recruitment and selection procedure in place and did not carry out relevant checks when they employed staff.

The service lacked governance systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality of the service. For example, effective systems to seek feedback of the experience of people who received the service were not in place and auditing systems were not robust.

The provider had guidance in place for customer quality and care reviews. However, we found the provider did not always follow their own guidance in relation to customer quality and care reviews.

We spoke with knowledgeable staff who could tell us the signs of abuse and what they would do if they suspected any form of abuse occurring. Risks to people were managed well to give people freedom, whilst keeping them safe.

There was a policy and procedure in place for the administration of medicines. We observed how people stored and managed medicines .In the main we found that the medication administering process was safe.

Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and was aware of the best interest process. People who used the service spoke highly of the staff that provided the service and said it was carried out to a very high standard.

Care was provided in a way that promoted people's dignity and respected their privacy. People received care and support that met their needs and took account of their preferences. Staff were knowledgeable about people's preferences, routines and personal circumstances.

Staff encouraged people who used the service to make decisions and choices in their lives to maximise their independence and enhance their life skills.