Alzheimer's Support

Updated 23 November 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

The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

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 not a registered manager in post. A manager was in post and was in the process of applying to be registered. We will complete an assessment of this application.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 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.

Inspection activity started on 25 October 2022 and ended on 4 November 2022. We visited the office location on 2 November 2022.

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 (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three relatives of people who used the service and received email feedback from two others. We received feedback from six care staff. During the visit to the office we spoke with the manager and chief executive officer. We reviewed care records for three people. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed. We received feedback from two social care professionals who have contact with the service.

Updated 23 November 2022

About the service

Alzheimer’s Support is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own home. At the time of our inspection there were eight people receiving personal care from the service. The service provides support for people living with dementia to enjoy social contact and continue to pursue their interests. The service also supports family carers to have a break.

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

People and their relative’s felt safe with support staff in their home. There were effective safeguarding systems in place and staff had a good understanding of what to do to protect people from harm.

The provider had taken action to keep people safe and manage the risks they faced. Relatives were confident staff had the knowledge and skills needed to keep people safe.

Staff were thoroughly checked before they started providing care, to ensure they had the appropriate experience and character.

Staff had a good understanding of the support people needed. People had been supported to develop clear care plans, which set out how their individual needs should be met. The plans were specific to people and contained detailed information for staff.

The service had good infection prevention and control measures in place. Relative’s told us staff always wore the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) when providing care.

The provider had established good systems to monitor the quality of service provided and make improvements where needed. The manager worked with people, staff and other professionals to ensure people achieved good outcomes.

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 good (published 22 September 2017)

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.