Alcedo Care Blackpool

Updated 14 July 2023

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 1 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

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 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 commissioners who work with the service. We also looked at information we had received and held on our system about the service, this included notifications sent to us by the provider and information passed to us by members of the public. The provider did complete the required Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about the service, what it does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 10 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. In addition, we spoke with 7 staff, the registered manager, deputy manager and operations manager. We looked at a range of records. This included two people’s care records, two staff recruitment files, training records, medication records and audits of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found. We looked at their quality assurance systems and training records for staff.

Updated 14 July 2023

About the service

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats across the Fylde, Wyre and surrounding areas. At the time of the inspection the agency supported 86 people with personal care.

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 car provided.

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

People we spoke with were positive about Alcedo Care and the support provided. One person said, “Very good they have done all we ask and more.” Staff were recruited safely and deployed in people's homes to meet their specific needs. Staff spoken with were provided with safeguarding training and aware of the processes to follow should they need to. Staff managed medicines in line with national guidelines in people’s own homes. Support for people was planned to ensure the persons needs and wishes were considered. Risks were assessed both the environment and when out in the local community.

People received support with their healthcare and nutritional needs when assessed as needed. 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. Staff received training and were regularly formally supervised. One staff member said, “Training opportunities are very good and one to one sessions with the management team occur on a regular basis.”

The registered manager had auditing systems to maintain ongoing oversight and development of the service. Quality assurance processes ensured people were able to give their views of the agency. In addition, ‘spot checks’ were completed by senior staff to ensure Alcedo Care maintained a good service and any issues could be addressed.

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

Rating at last inspection

The rating at the last inspection for this service was good (Published on the 30 November 2018.)

Why we inspected

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

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow Up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme.