Background to this inspection
Updated
29 July 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
Two inspectors carried out this inspection. Two experts by Experience supported this inspection making telephone calls to people and their relatives. 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
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
This inspection was announced. We gave 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.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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.
During the inspection
We spoke with eight people who used the service and 12 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three staff members including the registered manager, the quality and compliance manager and a company director. Following the inspection we spoke with five care staff. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at policies and procedures and quality assurance records.
Updated
29 July 2022
About the service
Allot healthcare services is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 51 people receiving a regulated activity. 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
Systems in place to monitor the quality of the service were not robust. We have made a recommendation about this.
People and staff shared positive feedback regarding the management. They felt there was effective communication and the registered manager was approachable.
People were consistently positive about the support they received from Allot healthcare services and the caring nature of staff.
People told us they felt safe. Staff had received training in safeguarding and felt confident in reporting any concerns. Risks to people’s health safety and wellbeing had been assessed and staff understood how to keep people safe.
Processes in place ensured staff recruitment was appropriate with a range of pre employment checks completed.
Medicines were managed and administered safely, with regular checks completed. We were assured by the measures taken to help ensure the prevention and control of infection.
The provider worked in partnership with health professionals and the local authority.
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 2 June 2021).The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe and well-led which contain those requirements.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service remains requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by
selecting the 'all reports' link for Allot Healthcare Services York on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.