- Homecare service
Alina Homecare Guildford
Assessment report published 21 May 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
About the service
The service provides personal care and support to people living with physical disabilities and frailty who are living in their own homes. At the time of our assessment, 33 people were in receipt of the regulated activity of personal care.
Who the service is for
We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. We identified the service was meeting this guidance.
Key findings
We carried out this assessment on 30th April to 1st May 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
Staff were aware of their responsibility to safeguard people from abuse and harm, and lessons were learnt to prevent recurrence of accidents and incidents. Identified risks to people and the environment they received care in were appropriately recorded in care plans and mitigated. There were a suitable number of appropriately recruited and trained staff members to meet people’s needs. Medicines were administered and managed safely.
People’s needs were assessed prior to their care commencing and then reviewed on a regular basis. This was done in line with nationally recognised tools for determining care requirements. Staff were aware of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how this effected the care they delivered to people and the importance of gaining consent.
People, their family and relatives were encouraged to provide feedback on the service and regular intervals throughout the year. Staff listened to information about people who were most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and professionally challenged health and social care professionals if required. One staff member told us, “Everyone is a little social activist warrior against injustice!”
People, families and staff felt the management team were compassionate and approachable. There were robust quality governance systems in place to monitor and make improvements to the service if any shortfalls were identified. The provider was committed to improvement the lives of the people they cared for. The nominated individual told us, “We are funded by a social impact investor. In terms of the profit they want to see, it’s the impact we are having on people. For example, they want to see falls are going down. As an organisation, we’re hardwired that way. We’re here for the service users.”
People's experience of this service
People spoke highly of the care they received from Alina Homecare Guildford. One person told us, “They’re like a member of family and are very kind and caring.” Another person said, “I’m very satisfied with the care. I find them excellent.” A relative added, “They treat him very well and we couldn’t ask for better. Each staff has a slightly different approach but it’s person centred.”
People told us staff knew them well and discussed things that were important with them such as life events, and their likes and hobbies. This included staff celebrating notable events in people’s lives. The registered manager told us, “I have a calendar of [people’s] birthdays so we will go and surprise them and bring an afternoon tea. They get gifts from us at Christmas. Obviously when we are out delivering care we hear about anniversaries so they might not realise we’re listening but we’re making note and planning little surprises for them.”
People and their relatives said staff arrived for care visits on time unless delayed by unforeseeable reasons and stayed the full length of the call visit duration. One person said, “On one instance, the carer couldn’t get here but they informed me that they were stuck in traffic. They keep me informed if they will be late.” Another person said, “They arrive almost to the minute. The task is completed before the end time and we have time for a quick chat.” A further person added, “They stay for the agreed length of time. They always inform me if they’re running late.”
People and their relatives felt confident in being able to raise concerns if needed, and that any issues raised would be dealt with in a timely and compassionate manner. One person told us, “It’s not a type of service that would ignore me.” People told us staff were kind towards them and respected their dignity and privacy when delivering care. This included closing curtains and doors when personal care was being delivered. They confirmed staff gained consent from them before delivering care and encouraged them to be as independent as possible where safe to do so.