We carried out a review of the data available to us about Alpha Quality Care Newport on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Alpha Quality Care Newport, you can give feedback on this service.
Alpha Quality Care is domiciliary care agency which provides support and personal care to people living in their own home. 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. At the time of our inspection four people were receiving a regulated activity from the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and relatives were satisfied with the care provided by the service.
People were protected from abuse. Staff had received training on how to safeguard people and were aware of what to do if they suspected any abuse. People told us they received safe care and were confident that if they raised concerns, the management team would act promptly to address these. People received their medicines as prescribed and infection control risks were managed effectively.
Risks associated with people's care were assessed and monitored. Assessments were person centred and care was responsive to people's needs. Care plans provided staff with the information to manage the identified risks. Staff were safely recruited by the service, ensuring that only staff who were suitable to work with vulnerable adults were employed.
Staff had the knowledge and skills to safely and effectively meet people's needs. Care plans were up to date and reviewed on a regular basis. Staff supported people in line with their wishes.
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 supported people to access healthcare professionals when they needed and worked alongside social care professionals to ensure a joined-up approach to people's care.
The provider had taken positive action since the last inspection to make improvements to the care people received from the service. The registered manager kept in regular contact with people by visiting them in their homes, checking if they were happy with the service they received and if any changes were needed.
People were complimentary about how the service was managed and told us staff were caring, kind and respectful. People's privacy, dignity and independence was respected and promoted.
The service had good governance systems in place to ensure aspects of the service and the quality of care provided were continuously assessed and monitored.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 9 December 2020 October) and there were breaches of regulation. 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
This inspection was carried out based on the pervious rating and to check if the service had improved.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Alpha Quality Care Newport 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.
Alpha Quality Care is domiciliary care agency which provides support and personal care to people living in their own home. Not everyone using Alpha Quality Care received a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with personal care; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection six people were receiving a regulated activity from the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
We could not be assured people had received their care as required. Not all people that received care from Alpha Quality Care were confident the care they received corresponded with their assessed needs and requirements.
Although some improvements had been made in relation to people receiving their medicines in a safe way and records associated with medicine management, shortfalls were identified in relation to the use of topical creams, effective medicine audits and the implementation of medicine policies.
People's care plans were up to date and contained person centred information. However, people’s risk assessments contained limited information in relation to how to keep them safe and mitigate the risk of harm. This placed people at risk of not receiving the appropriate care and treatment they required.
Infection control procedures and guidance were not always followed by staff, which placed people at risk of potential infection.
Since the last inspection the provider had made changes to improve the quality of the service, which had resulted in new systems and processes being implemented. However, these systems and processes had not been applied robustly to identify shortfalls in the service and the provider’s audits had failed to identify the concerns we found. This meant that improvements required, were not recognised or acted on in a timely way.
The management team kept in regular contact with people by visiting them in their homes, checking if they were happy with the service they received and if any changes were needed.
The service worked well with other partners, organisations and commissioners.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was Inadequate (published 06 May 2020) and the service was placed in special measures. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.
At this inspection, although enough improvement had been made to improve the rating from Inadequate to Requires improvement, the provider continued to be in breach of the regulations.
We have identified the following breaches at this inspection.
Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The provider had failed to ensure risks relating to the safety and welfare of people using the service were assessed and managed.
Regulation 17 (Good governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The provider failed to ensure records were consistent, up to date and detailed and to operate effective systems to assess, monitor and improve the service.
Regulation 18 (Staffing) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The provider failed to ensure that people were provided with sufficient numbers of staff to meet their assessed needs.
Why we inspected
This inspection was carried out based on the pervious rating and to ensure the service had improved.
Currently CQC is undertaking inspections to ensure services are safe and well-led. 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. We have rated the Key Questions for safe and well-led as requires improvement, therefore, the overall rating for the service has improved to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at the previous comprehensive inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Alpha Quality care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
Follow up
We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good.
We will request an action and continuous improvement plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Alpha Quality Care is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes within the community. At the time of the inspection, the service was providing care to ten people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
We found significant shortfalls in the safety and management of the service which placed people at risk of harm. Not all people that received care from Alpha Quality Care were confident that the care they received was safe.
People were at risk of harm due to poor medicines management. We could not be sure people had received their medicines safely and as prescribed.
Risk assessments were not always used effectively to identify and reduce risks to people. Written information for staff detailing how people should be supported safely was not updated in a timely way.
We were not assured that all pre-employment checks had been completed and the system to ensure staff were appropriately trained and skilled to provide care was not robust.
Infection control procedures and guidance was not always followed by staff which placed people at risk of potential infection.
Due to the quality of the care records we could not be assured care had been provided in line with peoples assessed needs, wishes and choices.
We received mixed views from people and relatives about the caring nature of the staff. We could not be assured people were always treated with dignity and respect.
There was a lack of systems and management oversight to ensure care was being provided as required. People were at risk due to poor governance and record keeping at the service. The services quality assurance systems were not robust or effective in identifying shortfalls.
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. The service supported this practice.
The registered manager and provider acknowledged these shortfalls during the inspection and agreed to introduced changes to improve the situation.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 20 March 2019).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Enforcement
We have identified the following breaches at this inspection.
Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The provider had failed to ensure risks relating to the safety and welfare of people using the service were assessed and managed.
Regulation 10 (Dignity and respect) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The provider failed to ensure people were treated with dignity and respect.
Regulation 19 (Fit and proper persons) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The provider failed to ensure systems and processes were consistently implemented to ensure fit and proper persons were employed.
Regulation 17 (Good governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The provider failed to ensure records were consistent, up to date and detailed and to operate effective systems to assess, monitor and improve the service.
Full information about CQC's regulatory response to the more serious concerns found in inspections and appeals is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
Follow up
The overall rating for this service is 'Inadequate' and the service is therefore in 'special measures'. This means we will keep the service under review and, if we do not propose to cancel the provider's registration, we will re-inspect within 6 months to check for significant improvements.
If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe. And there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall rating, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures. This will mean we will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will usually lead to cancellation of their registration or to varying the conditions the registration. For adult social care services, the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it and it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.
Following our inspection, we raised our concerns about people's safety with the local authority safeguarding team.
Alpha Quality Care is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes within the community. At the time of the inspection, the service was providing care to nine people.
People’s experience of using this service:
• Most staff had completed essential training and were knowledgeable of how to support people effectively. However, we identified a staff member who had not received training in topics that the provider considered mandatory and another staff member who had not received refresher training in key areas.
• People received their medicines safely and as prescribed, however records of medicines administration had not always been completed fully and accurately.
• There was no direct support available to provide cover for the manager, which mean that should they be absent, appropriate cover may not be in place.
• Quality assurance checks were in place, which included a range of audits carried out by the manager, however these had not identified the concerns we found in relation to medicines records and staff training.
• People were supported by staff with their nutritional and hydration needs. Staff worked in collaboration with health and social care professionals where required.
• People received timely and consistent team from a group of staff that understood their needs well.
• Staff treated people with kindness and compassion. Staff had developed positive relationships with people and their relatives and knew what mattered most to them.
• People’s cultural and diversity needs were assessed, recorded and respected by staff appropriately.
• Most people had a clear, detailed and person-centred care plan in place, which guided staff on the most appropriate way to support them.
• Complaints were dealt with and investigated appropriately by the manager. People felt able to raise concerns.
• The manager kept in contact with people and sought their feedback about the service in a variety of ways.
• Rating at last inspection:
This was the first inspection of the service since they registered with the Care Quality Commission.
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection.