Background to this inspection
Updated
25 July 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
One inspector carried out this inspection.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to people living in their own homes in the community. At the time of the inspection 23 people were being supported with a regulated activity of personal care.
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. As this is a small service we gave he registered manager 48 hours’ notice of our intended inspection. This was so that the senior staff would be available to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 3 July 2019 and ended on 09 July 2019. We visited the office location on 3 July 2019 and contacted people, relatives and staff to obtain their feedback on 9 July 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection-
We sought feedback from the local authority and commissioners who work with the service.
We spoke with two people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, quality and operations manager, a field care supervisor and three care workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to the recruitment process and staff support and supervision. A variety of records relating to the overall quality management of the service, including audits were reviewed.
Updated
25 July 2019
About the service
Alina Harpenden and mid Herts is a domiciliary care service providing care and support to people living in their own homes in the community.
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. At the time of the inspection twenty- three people were being supported with a regulated activity of personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were very positive with the care and support they received from Alina Harpenden and mid Herts People felt safe. Staff knew how to keep people safe and how to report any concerns. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. There was a robust recruitment process in place, which were completed before new staff started work. People were supported to take their medicines safely. People were protected from the risk and spread of infection. Learning from accidents and incidents was shared with staff.
Peoples consent was obtained before staff provided care. 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 if required to eat and drink sufficient to maintain their health and to access health care services and professional when needed.
People liked the staff that cared for them. People told us that staff were "kind, caring and thoughtful". They told us that staff supported them to live their lives as they wished. People were involved in developing and reviewing their support and their care planning and staff were respectful of people's privacy, whilst maintaining their dignity. Staff worker well as a team and were committed to being providing high quality person-centred care, supporting people to continue living in their own homes.
People knew how to raise concerns and the registered manager addressed any feedback in a timely way and to the satisfaction of the complainant. People’s views on the service were sought and they felt their views were valued by staff.
The registered manager carried out quality monitoring checks and audits to ensure the quality was maintained and improved where necessary. People, relatives and staff all felt supported and valued and told us the registered manager was approachable and available at all times. The staff team worked in partnership with other organisations to ensure good holistic care outcomes for people.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 24 May 2018 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the date the service was registered.
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.