Allcare Services and Training Limited

Updated 22 March 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

One adult social care inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type:

Allcare Services and Training Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to adults living in their own houses and flats in the community.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service five days’ notice of the inspection site visit because we needed to be sure a member of the management team would be in. Inspection site visit activity started on 06 March 2019 we visited the office location on the same day to see the company director; and to review care records and policies and procedures. We telephoned staff and relatives on 08 March 2019. We made additional telephone calls on the 11 March 2019 when we spoke with the registered manager who was unavailable when we visited the office.

What we did:

Before our inspection, we checked the information we held about Allcare Services and Training Limited. This included notifications the registered manager sent us about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people who received support.

We also contacted the commissioning, safeguarding and contracts departments at Herefordshire County Council. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced when they received support from Allcare Services and Training Limited. We also contacted Healthwatch. Healthwatch is the local consumer champion for health and social care services. They give consumers a voice by collecting their views, concerns and compliments through their engagement work. All the information gathered before our inspection went into completing a planning document that guides the inspection. The planning document allows key lines of enquiry to be investigated focusing on any current concerns, areas of risk and good or outstanding practice.

During this inspection, we spoke with two relatives, the registered manager, company director, one social care professional and three carers. We looked at the care records of two people, recruitment and training records of two staff members, records related to the administration of medicines and the management of the service.

We looked at what quality audit tools and data management systems the registered manager had. We reviewed how many visits a staff member had completed per day and if the registered manager ensured staff had enough time to travel between visits. We looked at the continuity of support people received and discussed how the management team monitored how long staff stayed on each visit.

We used all the information gathered to inform our judgements about the fundamental standards of quality and safety of the service delivered by Allcare Services and Training Limited.

Updated 22 March 2019

About the service: Allcare Services and Training Limited is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to adults living in their own houses and flats in the community. At the time of the inspection five people received personal care support from the service. The office is based in Bromyard Herefordshire. The service provides care and support varying from day visits to overnight support.

People’s experience of using this service:

Relatives told us family members were made safe by the care they received. Staff told us they had appropriate training, knowledge and support to keep people safe. Staff could tell us how they managed risk and behaviours that challenge while respecting the person and supporting their dignity.

Relatives felt confident in the management, they told us there was a caring culture within the service and staffing levels were appropriate. Relatives said it was beneficial the registered manager worked alongside staff delivering care.

We looked at how the management team planned their rotas. Staff were given travelling time between visits. The company director told us because the service was small it was easy to have clear oversight of the care delivered.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Care plans had been developed with people and their relatives being involved throughout the process. These were reviewed to reflect people’s current needs. The guidelines were comprehensive showing staff clearly what support was required. The management of risk was included within the care plan to minimise the likelihood of preventable harm occurring.

Staff files we looked at showed the registered manager used the same safe recruitment procedures we found at our last inspection. Staff told us training was ongoing and they received refresher training each year to update their knowledge.

There was a complaints procedure which was made available to people and their families. People we spoke with told us they had not made a formal complaint and were happy with the support they received. The service continued to have good oversight of relevant procedures through monitoring and auditing to ensure people received effective support and the service was well led.

The registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included questionnaires to seek their views about the service provided.

The service engaged with outside agencies, health and social care professionals to ensure people received timely healthcare support.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Report published 25 August 2016)

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any issues or concerns are identified, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk