Archived: Altogether Care LLP- Blandford Care at Home Also known as Care at Home

Altogether Care LLP- Blandford Care at Home is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. At the time of this inspection, 61 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care from the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

We received positive feedback from people, relatives and healthcare professionals regarding the service and were provided with many examples that demonstrated people were receiving high quality, effective and responsive care from a service that was well-led.

Staff received induction and on-going training and support that enabled them to carry out their roles effectively.

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.

People had access to healthcare services and were involved in decisions about their care and wellbeing. Working partnerships with other agencies and health professionals had been formed which enabled effective outcomes for people.

People were encouraged and supported to eat and drink well. People told us they felt listened to and their views were respected when planning and agreeing what care and support they needed.

People told us they received their care from a team of staff who knew them, and their care needs well. People and relatives told us staff were kind and caring and went above and beyond to ensure they were happy and well cared for.

Care plans were person centred and detailed created with people and updated to ensure they remained current. People and relatives knew how to raise any concerns and told us the service was proactive at resolving any concerns and worked well as a team to improve the service.

There was a system of ongoing monitoring through audits and spot checks to review the quality of the service provided.

There was an open, transparent supportive culture that empowered staff and people who use the service to put forward their ideas for improvement that enabled people to receive quality, individualised care that impacted positively on their lives.

People, relatives, health and social care professionals. and staff consistently spoke of the effective and clear communication they had with the service.

The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 12 November 2019 and this is the first inspection to rate the service.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to provide a rating for a recently registered service. The ratings from the previous inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

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.

Altogether Care LLP- Blandford Care at Home is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. At the time of this inspection, 94 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care from the service.

People's experience of using this service and what we found

People and relatives spoke extremely positively about the service they received. We were given many examples that showed people received quality care and support from kind, caring staff that so often went the extra mile to ensure people were kept safe, were happy and felt well cared for.

Staff spoke knowledgably about all aspects regarding safeguarding people. Staff had completed safeguarding training and understood their role in identifying and reporting any concerns of potential abuse or poor practice.

Risks were individually assessed, regularly reviewed, clear and covered all areas of people's health as well as any potential environmental risks. Risks assessments ensured staff were given current guidance and information to enable them to support people safely whilst allowing them to maintain their independence.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of trained, experienced staff to meet people's needs. People received their support from a consistent team of skilled staff that knew people well and delivered their care in ways people preferred.

Safe recruitment practices were followed. Appropriate checks were completed to ensure that only suitable staff were employed. There was a strong commitment to developing and supporting staff through regular training, supervisions, observations and appraisals. Staff spoke positively about the training they received which they told us was well delivered and of good quality.

Staff supported people to take medicines safely. Staff were trained in medicines management and knew how to ensure that people received their medicines on time and as they had been prescribed. Clear audit processes were in place to monitor the accuracy of administering and recording medicines.

There were robust procedures in place to ensure people were protected from infections that could affect both staff and people using the service. Staff had completed infection prevention and control training and understood the actions needed to minimise the risk of avoidable harm, including the prevention of avoidable infection. Staff had access to plentiful supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) and followed current national guidance regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.

People, relatives, health and social care professionals and staff spoke highly of the registered manager. People felt the service was well led with a strong commitment to providing the very best person-centred care.

Staff told us, and records showed, there was an open, honest, positive culture with a strong ethos on learning and development. Staff were provided with the training, skills and support to provide the best levels of care to people to enable them to live their lives as independently as possible whilst maintaining a good sense of wellbeing and happiness.

Governance systems and oversight of the service were robust. Issues were identified, analysed and discussed with staff to ensure lessons were learned. There was an open, supportive culture that empowered staff to put forward their ideas for improvement to enable people to receive quality, individualised care that impacted positively on their lives.

People, relatives, health and social care professionals. and staff consistently spoke of the effective and clear communication they had with the service.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 12 November 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a focussed inspection conducted in accordance with current CQC inspection guidance and was not in response to any concerns.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.