We carried out a review of the data available to us about Alina Homecare Specialist Care- Kent on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Alina Homecare Specialist Care- Kent, you can give feedback on this service.
Alina Homecare Specialist Care Kent is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses in the community and provides care and support to people living in 'supported living' settings, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible.
People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support.
Not everyone using Alina Homecare Specialist Care Kent receives 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. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting 17 people with their personal care needs. People who use the service live in Maidstone, Ashford, Medway and the surrounding areas.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People had been supported to live the life they had chosen and, to weigh up the benefits and risks to decisions they made. People told us they were happy living within their homes and spoke highly of the staff, that knew them well. People were at the centre of their care and were supported to be part of their local community.
Potential risks had been mitigated and staff understood each person’s specifics risks. People were offered the opportunity to be involved in the recruitment of their staff. Support hours were planned around people’s activities at times they had specified. Checks and audits took place to promote health and safety within each service. People had been supported to budget with their finances and checks took place to identify any financial discrepancies.
People told us they felt safe and comfortable with the staff. Staff had been trained and were clear on the action to take if they suspected abuse. Potential safeguarding concerns had been reported to the local authority with an audit detailing any actions that required completing.
People had been involved in the management of their medicines. Some people had chosen to store their medicines within a medicine’s cabinet in their bedroom, whilst others were kept within a medicine cabinet within the house. Staff had been trained and followed detailed protocols for each person and their specific needs. Staff had been trained and understood the importance of reducing the risk of infection. People had been supported to understand the importance of following guidance during the pandemic.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Feedback and views were sought and acted on from people, staff and relatives. There was an open, inclusive, person centred culture within the organisation where staff felt valued in their role. Services were tailored and developed to meet people’s individual needs. Staff worked in partnership with people, relatives and external health care professionals to ensure a consistent approach to meeting people’s needs.
Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service people received. A range of checks and audits were completed to ensure people received a high-quality service. Lessons were learnt and improvements were made when things went wrong. Manager’s held debriefing sessions with staff following an incident to identify any potential actions to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. People were at the centre of their care and made their own decisions, being supported to understand and weigh up and potential identified risks. The ethos of the service and care records was to support people to be as independent as possible whilst, maximising people choices.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection -
The last rating for this service was Good (published 16 October 2018).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about infection control, staffing levels and the culture. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the Safe and Well-Led sections of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Alina Homecare Specialist Care- Kent on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Alina Homecare Specialist Care Kent is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses in the community and provides care and support to people living in 'supported living' settings, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support.
The service specialises in providing support to people with learning disabilities and has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.
Not everyone using Alina Homecare Specialist Care Kent receives 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. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting eight people with their personal care needs. People who use the service live in Maidstone, Ashford, Medway and the surrounding areas.
The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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. The registered manager was supported in their role by an operations director and an office administrator.
People said they felt safe using the service. Staff had been trained on how to report abuse and knew how to report concerns and managers knew how to report them. Risks to people and the environment were assessed and staff took steps to reduce any risks identified. There were enough staff working at the service. New staff were recruited safely. People received their medicines safely by staff who were trained and who had their competency checked. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection. The supported living service we visited was well presented and clean. Steps were taken to ensure lessons were learned when things went wrong.
People were assessed before a service began and their support was delivered in line with current legislation. Newly recruited staff were trained in line with the Care Certificate. Established staff received training which was tailored according to the needs of those using the service. People were involved in making decisions about what food they ate, and were supported by staff to maintain a balanced diet. Staff supported people to access timely healthcare support. Staff followed guidance from professionals involved in people’s care. Staff were knowledgeable about the Mental Capacity Act 2005. 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. Best interest meetings were held when needed.
People were treated with kindness and respect. Staff knew people’s needs and said they had the time to get to know people and how they wanted to be supported. People said they were confident to express their wishes. Staff knew how to refer people to external advocates if the person needed additional support. People were encouraged to live independent lives, and had their privacy and dignity promoted. People’s confidential information was kept private.
People were in control of how their support was provided and it was provided in a personalised manner. Each person had their own care plan, which considered the person’s preferences, and which was reviewed regularly. People and their relatives said they know how to raise a complaint and were confident to do so if the need arose. The registered provider had a policy and procedure which would be used to consider how people would be supported at the end of their life to have a dignified death.
The registered manager had the experience and skills to lead the service. They had the oversight of staff behaviour and culture within the service, and staff performance was reviewed. Staff said they felt valued and proud to work for the organisation. The registered manager was taking steps to seek the views of people, their relatives and staff in the development of the service. The registered manager maintained relationships with the local community.