A1 Home Care Also known as A1 Home Care Limited

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 – 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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

The provider had processes in place to ensure that care plans and risk assessments were reviewed and updated regularly, and we saw evidence of people and their relatives being involved in reviews of their care and support needs. Any changes to people’s needs were communicated between the staff team. A member of staff told us, “A1 are very particular in keeping those they care for safe. If anything changes in [people’s] care routine, the care plans are updated and emails are sent to all carers, whether you care for that person or not. Some changes that we are informed of will also carry a 'please acknowledge that you have read this email'.”

The provider 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.

The provider ensured that referrals were made when required to support people to live well. For example, people had their needs assessed by speech and language therapists (SALT) for any risks associated with choking. District nurses and occupational therapists were involved with needs relating to skin management and equipment to ensure people received the appropriate care and support. Feeback from people and relatives supported this. One relative told us, “I feel confident that the carers notice things and would pick up on concerns such as sores or changes in [relatives’] condition.” Another told us, “As [relatives’] dementia has gotten worse, I’ve been able to ask them to make changes to the support they provide. They have responded to changes in [relatives’] needs.”

The provider 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.

The provider supported people to access healthcare professionals such as GPs and occupational therapists and raised referrals when required. Staff were kept up to date with any changes to people's care and support needs. People and their relatives told us that the staff were vigilant in recognising any changes to care or support needs. One relative told us, “They keep an eye on things and if they thought [relative] needed a nurse or any extra support, they would let us know.”

Feedback from health and social care professionals told us that referrals were submitted and the service worked well with them as well as ensuring good communication.

The provider supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

The management team and the staff understood the importance of ensuring people had access to the relevant health care professionals such as GPs and occupational therapists. We saw evidence of people being supported with managing health conditions to contribute to a healthier lifestyle. For example, 1 person was supported with how to manage a healthy diet to help support their diabetes management. We also saw evidence of the provider seeking additional support time for 1 person whose needs had changed, and they required assistance with their nutritional and hydration intake.

Feedback from professionals supported that A1 Home Care worked well other health care providers in ensuring people were supported to live well within their own homes.

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

Staff documented and monitored any changes to people’s health and ensured referrals were made to the appropriate healthcare professional to improve outcomes for people. Any updates to people’s needs were shared accordingly with staff via the electronic care planning system, emails and when staff visited the office. People and their relatives, where appropriate, also had access to the care portal where care notes, care plans and which staff were due to attend were updated.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

We saw evidence of consent being sought within people's care plans and daily care notes. People and their relatives confirmed that staff sought consent and did not rush people when being supported with their care. One person told us, “They don’t just rush off.”

Staff understood the importance of obtaining consent before delivering care and had received up to date training around the Mental Capacity Act (MCA, 2005).