Alina Homecare - Andover

Updated 29 March 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since their registration with CQC and sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We also sought feedback from the local authority. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the provider’s office where we spoke with the registered manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also spoke with the care quality manager and the care coordinator and reviewed a range of records. Following the inspection, we spoke with 4 people using the service and another 4 people’s relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also received feedback from 7 care staff. We sought feedback from 3 health and social care professionals but received no responses.

Updated 29 March 2023

About the service

Alina Home Care is a domiciliary care service providing 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. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection there were 14 people receiving personal care.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and 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 supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not provide personal care for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

Right Support

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. Staff had completed comprehensive assessments of each person’s needs. Staff empowered people to make their own decisions and supported them to maintain an active role in maintaining their own health. Staff followed effective processes to assess and provide the support people needed to take their medicines safely.

Right Care

Care was exceptionally person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. People received kind and compassionate care from staff who understood their individual needs. The support achieved exceptional outcomes for people including helping people to regain skills and independence. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse and people lived as safely as possible because staff assessed, monitored and managed risks. The service had enough staff to ensure that people received a reliable and consistent service that met their needs. Staff recruitment processes promoted safety. Staff used personal protective equipment effectively and safely. The service managed incidents affecting people’s safety well.

Right Culture

The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services led confident, inclusive and empowered lives. Staff had received relevant training and underwent an induction which helped to ensure they understood their role and responsibilities. Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people. Leaders valued people’s views

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 24 December 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection as the service had not previously been inspected

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.