All Seasons Alton

Updated 6 October 2022

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 completed by one inspector.

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 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 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. Inspection activity started on 5 September 2022 and ended on 14 September 2022. We visited the location’s office on 9 September 2022.

What we did before the inspection

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 sought feedback from the local authority. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

Prior to the site visit we spoke with three people and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with three care staff and three health care professionals.

At the site visit, we spoke with the registered manager who is also the provider and the deputy manager who manages the location day to day.

We reviewed three people’s care records, two staff recruitment files and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 6 October 2022

About the service

All Seasons Alton is a domiciliary service providing personal care. The service provides support to younger and older adults who may be living with dementia, a physical disability, sensory impairment, learning disability or mental health diagnosis. At the time of our inspection there were ten people using the service.

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.

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

People and their relatives were happy with the service. Their feedback included, “I could recommend them to anyone” and “We have positive relationships with the carers and management.”

People were safe and safeguards were in place to protect them from the risk of abuse. Staff assessed a range of risks to people and there were detailed plans to ensure identified risks to people were managed safely. There were sufficient staff to support people consistently. People received their medicines safely from trained and competent staff. People and staff were protected from the risk of acquiring an infection. There was an open culture and staff were encouraged to report any concerns.

People’s needs were comprehensively assessed and the delivery of their care was based on legislative requirements and good practice guidance to achieve positive outcomes for them. Staff liaised with people and external agencies to provide their care and meet their healthcare needs. The provider ensured staff were fully supported in their role and had the required skills and knowledge. Staff supported people to eat and drink sufficient for their 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.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support 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.

People and their relatives consistently told us staff treated them with kindness and compassion. People were encouraged and supported to express their views. Staff ensured people’s privacy, dignity and choices about their care were respected and promoted. Staff were trained to support people who wished to receive end of life care in their own home, with input from community-based health care professionals.

People received personalised care which was responsive to their needs and regularly reviewed. Information was available to people in accessible formats if required.

There was a clear strategy to enable the delivery of people’s care and support, underpinned by an open and inclusive culture. This achieved good outcomes for people. There was a clear governance framework, managers led the service well and staff at all levels understood their responsibilities. Processes were in place to ensure people and staff were able to express their views, including complaints and complements which were acted upon. The provider had robust quality assurance processes to monitor the quality of the service provided and to drive improvements.

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 28 May 2021 and this is 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.