Archived: Alef Care Ltd

Updated 15 October 2021

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, 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 was carried out by one inspector and one 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

Alef Care is a domiciliary care agency. People receive a personal care service in their own home.

Not everyone using Alef Care receives a 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.

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 site visit was announced and started on 31 August 2021. We gave short notice of the inspection because we wanted to be sure a senior member of staff was available to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as serious incidents. The provider was asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people who used the service and nine relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the provider, registered manager, care-coordinator and care workers. We have included their views and feedback in the main body of the report.

We reviewed a range of records. These included five people's care and medication records, five staff recruitment files and training and supervision records. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service. We reviewed how the provider and the registered manager completed their quality assurance checks

After the inspection

We obtained feedback from one health professional to obtain their views about the service.

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with one professional who had worked with the service recently

Updated 15 October 2021

About the service

Alef Care Limited provides personal care for people in their own homes, most of whom are older people. 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 this inspection the service was providing personal care to 9 people.

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

People were supported by staff who had the skills and knowledge to meet their needs safely and effectively and followed best practice. Views of people were valued and used to make improvements to their care and support.

Care records were not always consistently detailed; however, people's care and support needs were being met in line with their personal preferences as staff knew people well. The service responded promptly when people’s needs changed. The service worked well with other health professionals to make sure people’s care needs were met.

People were actively involved in making decisions about their care. They 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 members felt they were valued and respected by the management team, who sought their involvement to improve and develop the service.

People were supported by staff who were caring, kind, respected their dignity and privacy, and promoted their independence.

The service was well managed, by a registered manager and management team who were described as ‘supportive’, ‘approachable’ and, ‘brilliant’. Quality assurance systems, including audits, feedback from people who used the service and staff were all used to make continuous improvements to the quality of the service people received.

Why we inspected

This is the first inspection for this newly registered service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

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