Archived: Alina Homecare Horsham

Updated 26 September 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type:

This service provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is bought or rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing. The service is also a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living 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 service.

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:

The inspection was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service. We wanted to be sure that someone would be in to speak with us.

What we did:

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as incidents and abuse. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection:

We reviewed a range of records. This included four staff recruitment files, training records, records relating to the management of the service and a variety of policies and procedures and quality assurance processes developed and implemented by the provider. We reviewed four people’s care records. We spoke with nine members of staff, including the registered manager, a regional manager, a quality manager, a care co-ordinator, and care staff. We met with staff from Alina Home Care Horsham in their office, and observed them working in the office, dealing with issues and speaking with people over the telephone. During our inspection we spoke with nine people over the telephone.

Updated 26 September 2019

About the service:

Alina Home Care Horsham is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in a large purpose built extra care housing community on the outskirts of Horsham, and also to those living in their own homes in the surrounding areas. On the day of the inspection the service was supporting 84 people with a range of health and social care needs, such as people with a physical disability, sensory impairment or people living with dementia. Support was tailored according to people’s assessed needs within the context of people’s individual preferences and lifestyles to help people to live and maintain independent lives and remain in their homes. Not everyone using Alina Home Care Horsham receives the regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service:

People received outstandingly responsive care that met and exceeded their needs, and improved their wellbeing, independence and happiness. Dedicated and enthusiastic staff ensured that people’s daily life was filled with enjoyment, opportunities for meaningful occupation, entertainment and involvement in making friends and reducing social isolation. People’s needs, wishes and aspirations were paramount and at the heart of the service. One person told us, “They have made such a difference to my life. I was not in a good place and they have changed that”.

Staff had received essential training and support, and feedback from people indicated that they knew the best way to care for them in line with their needs and preferences.

People were happy with the care they received, felt relaxed with staff and told us they were treated with kindness. They said they felt safe, were well supported and there were sufficient staff to care for them. One person told us, “I’ve never had any concerns, they treat me very well and do what I need”.

People’s independence was promoted and told us their needs were met. They told us that they had a regular team of care staff who arrived on time and knew them well. One person told us, “They’ve helped me so much, they’ve rebuilt my confidence”.

People felt they were offered choice in the way their care was delivered and that they had no concerns around their dignity and privacy in their own homes being respected. One person told us, “They’re always respectful, I’ve not got any concerns”.

The provider had systems of quality assurance to measure and monitor the standard of the service and drive improvement. These systems also supported people to stay safe by assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring that people were cared for in a person centred way and that the provider learned from any mistakes.

People told us they thought the service was well managed and they received high quality care that met their needs. One person told us, “I’d recommend Alina to anybody, they are really very good”.

Rating at last inspection: Requires Improvement (report published 16 July 2018).

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the intelligence we receive about this service and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good.

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