Alpine House

Updated 6 August 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

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. 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

This inspection was announced. 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 the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection-

People using the service were non-verbal, therefore, we spoke with two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager. We spoke with one health care professional.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and one person’s medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 6 August 2019

About the service

Alpine House is a community-based care provider that provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 3 people receiving personal care.

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

People were safe and care staff knew how to keep them safe from harm. The provider had a recruitment process to ensure they had enough care staff to support people safely. People received their medicines as prescribed. Care staff followed infection control guidance and had access to personal protective equipment.

Care staff had the skills and knowledge to meet people's needs. People's nutritional needs were met.

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.

People were supported by care staff who were kind and caring and knew them well. Care staff were passionate about their role had built good relationships with people. People's privacy, dignity and independence were respected by care staff. People’s equality and diversity needs were respected.

People's support needs were assessed regularly and planned to ensure they received the support they needed. People's support was individualised. The provider had a complaints process which people were aware of to share any concerns. There were end of life care plans in place for people who wished to ensure their wishes and beliefs were respected at the end of their life.

The service was well managed. The registered manager was known to people and made themselves available. Feedback questionnaires were used to gather information about people’s views. Audits were carried out to ensure the quality of the service was maintained.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 21 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.

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