Archived: Allied Healthcare Luton

Updated 24 November 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 22, 23 and 24 August 2016. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that staff would be available on the day of the inspection, and that records would be accessible.

The inspection team was made up of one 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. The expert by experience used for this inspection had experience of a family member using this type of service.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed information available to us about the service such as information from the local authority, information received about the service and notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

We spoke with 11 people and eight relatives of people who used the service and reviewed written comments and feedback received from a further 13 people who completed a questionnaire. We also spoke with three care workers, two care quality supervisors and the care delivery manager.

We looked at eight people’s care records to see if they were reflective of their current needs. We reviewed six staff recruitment files, reviewed the staff duty rota and care call scheduling systems and staff training records. We also looked at further records relating to the management of the service, including complaints management and quality audits, in order to review how the quality of the service was monitored and managed to drive future improvement.

Updated 24 November 2016

Allied Healthcare Luton is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support for people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection they were providing a service to approximately 130 people.

This inspection took place on 22, 23 and 24 August 2016, and it was announced.

The service has 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. At the time of our inspection the registered manager was unavailable to participate in the inspection process because they were on annual leave. The care delivery manager was however overseeing the service in their absence.

People told us that they felt safe and were supported by consistent staff who were knowledgeable and skilled. Staff understood their responsibilities with regards to safeguarding people and they had received effective training. There were systems in place to safeguard people from the risk of possible harm.

The service had robust recruitment procedures in place. Staff were competent in their roles and were supported by way of spot checks, supervisions and appraisals. These were consistently completed for all staff and used to improve and give feedback on performance.

People’s needs had been assessed and they had been involved in planning their care and deciding in which way their care was provided. Each person had a detailed care plan which included personalised risk assessments that gave guidance to staff on how individual risks to people could be minimised.

Staff were caring and respectful. They provided care in a courteous manner and maintained people’s dignity.

There was a clear management structure at the service and people, their relatives and staff knew who to raise concerns to. There was an open culture and senior members of staff were approachable. The provider had an effective process for handling complaints and concerns. These were recorded, investigated, responded to and included actions to prevent recurrence.

Feedback on the service provided was encouraged and action plans had been developed to address any issues raised within audit processes and surveys, with a view to continuously improve the service.