Adelfi Care Services

Updated 8 June 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors and an Expert by Experience. 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 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 48 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 inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

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 to 2 people using the service and 5 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke to 7 members of staff, including 4 care staff, the registered manager, the deputy manager and the director of the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 4 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed. We looked at training data and quality assurance records and additional evidence of how the service went the “extra mile” to support their staff and people using the service.

Updated 8 June 2023

Adelfi Care Services is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people in their own home. At the time of the inspection, 15 people were receiving support from the service, 7 of which were in receipt of 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 care provided.

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

We received positive views about the service from people and their relatives. One person’s relatives told us: “It has been a great success. [Person] lives on [their] own and would not be able to stay at home. They come four times a day. They have given us lots of ideas and tips which we probably would not have known about. I can’t fault them at all. We are all very happy. I can’t thank them enough for their professionalism and the care they are giving [person].”

People received care which was safe, and staff understood how to support people to maintain their safety. People's medicines were administered safely and as prescribed. The provider checked the suitability of new staff through recruitment processes. Staff used personal protective equipment (PPE) when supporting people to reduce the risk of infection.

People received compassionate care and they felt respected and valued as individuals. Staff exceeded expectations to ensure people's needs were met and they were comfortable and safe. One person’s relative told us: “Everything that is possible to do is done for [person]. If they go to a wedding, they bring [person] a piece of cake. At Christmas [staff] made Christmas dinner for everyone who was on their own.”

The registered manager and management team offered exceptional leadership and had a clear vision about the service. There were robust quality assurance systems in place to ensure people received the best possible service which was person centred to their needs and wishes. The registered manager worked closely with people, their representatives, partner agencies and services and the community to promote best practice within the service and make a positive impact to people's lives.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 14 July 2022) and there was a breach 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 regulation.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Adelfi Care Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 30 and 31 May 2022. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe recruitment practices.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow up

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