Archived: All Seasons Home Care

Updated 11 March 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 12&16 January 2016. This visit was announced and the provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to make sure the registered manager was available.

The inspection was carried out by one adult social care lead inspector.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service this included any statutory notifications sent to us by the provider. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. We also contacted a local commissioner of the service. We did not receive a Provider Information Return (PIR) before the inspection as one was not sent to the provider for completion. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

The inspector visited the office from which the service operated and spent time with the registered manager discussing how the service was run. We looked at the care support plans for five people, spoke to four members of the care support team and spoke to the member of the management team who was responsible for personnel processes. We also spoke to the administrative staff who worked in the office.

We visited one person in their own home and spoke to four other people on the telephone. CQC had also sent out questionnaire surveys and we were able to read the comments made by staff who worked at the agency as well as comments from people who used the service and their relatives.

Updated 11 March 2016

This announced comprehensive inspection took place on 12 &16 January 2016. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice of the visit because the location provides support and personal care to people living in their own homes.

All Seasons Home Care provides a domiciliary service to people within and around the Carlisle area. The agency provides personal care to adults including, older people, people with sensory loss, physical disability and various forms of dementia.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they knew the staff who supported them and that they felt safe and relaxed in their company. Relatives told us they had no concerns about the safety of their family members when they received personal care.

Staff were able to demonstrate their knowledge about different types of abuse and how they would raise concerns if they thought people were at risk of abuse of any kind.

Care plans were written in an easily understood way and based on a thorough assessment of needs. They contained sufficient information to enable people to be supported correctly. The service managed medicines appropriately.

People we spoke to who used the service, made very positive comments about the caring attitude of the staff and the way they were supported.

Staff ensured that people’s privacy and dignity were protected at all times.

Peoples’ needs were fully assessed before the service started.

People were able to contact the agency staff if they were worried or concerned about anything.

There was a complaints procedure in place.

The registered manager asked people for their views about the care they received and made any changes necessary in line with concerns raised.

There was a quality monitoring system in place although much of this was on an informal basis through home visits by the registered manager or one of the senior care staff.