Alora Care Service Ltd

Updated 14 September 2022

Inspection team

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

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

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

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

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that a member of staff would be available to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held about the service, including previous correspondence with the provider. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

Inspection activity started on 26 July and ended on 29th July 2022.

This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.

We reviewed records of care and support for four people who used the service. We looked at records of recruitment, training and supervision for three staff members. We also reviewed records relating to the management of the service such as policies, incidents and staff meetings.

We spoke to the registered manager and made telephone calls to three care workers and three people who used the service.

Updated 14 September 2022

Alora Care Agency is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides personal care to older people and people with physical disabilities living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were four people using the service.

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

People told us they were treated with kindness and respect by their care workers. One person told us “I’m really happy with the service I am getting”.

People received care from care workers who spoke their preferred language and understood their cultural needs. People told us they were involved in planning their care and felt listened to. People using the service gave us examples of how care workers had responded to changes in their needs and provided additional support as required. The service assessed people’s care needs to ensure people received personalised care. People spoke of receiving punctual care from consistent staff that they had come to know well.

People were safeguarded from abuse and poor treatment. The service assessed risks to people’s wellbeing and ensured that people were protected from avoidable harm. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and care workers were recruited safely to ensure they were suitable for their roles.

Care workers had the right skills and training to support people with regular supervision and observations by the registered manager. The provider made sure that people had the right support to eat and drink and understood people’s health conditions and how these may impact on their care needs.

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.

Managers engaged positively with people who used the service, regularly contacting and visiting people to check the quality of their care. People told us they could always contact a manager and were confident in raising concerns. The registered manager carried out regular audits to make sure that care was delivered safely and effectively. Care workers felt well supported by managers and felt that concerns would be taken seriously and addressed.

The service assessed people’s communication needs and the support people required to communicate, but did not always provide information in accessible formats. We have made a recommendation about how the provider meets the Accessible Information Standard.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

We registered this service on 24 May 2021 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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

This was an ‘inspection using remote technology’. This means we did not visit the office location and instead used technology such as electronic file sharing to gather information, and video and phone calls to engage with people using the service as part of this performance review and assessment.