Archived: Allied Healthcare Penzance

Allied Healthcare is a community service that provides care and support to adults of all ages, in their own homes. The service provides help with people’s personal care needs in Helston and surrounding areas. This includes people with physical disabilities and dementia care needs. The service mainly provides personal care for people in short visits at key times of the day to help people get up in the morning, go to bed at night and give support with meals. At the time of our inspection 71 people were receiving a personal care service. These services were funded either privately, through Cornwall Council or NHS funding.

People we spoke with told us they felt safe using the service and told us, “We tend to have the same carers,” “They are lovely girls. I feel quite safe with them they do my shopping and I am happy with it” and “Very good, we have had them (staff) a long time and would not change them for the world.”

Staff had received training in how to recognise and report abuse. Staff were clear about how to report any concerns and were confident that any allegations made would be fully investigated to help ensure people were protected. There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of people who used the service. The service was flexible and responded to people’s changing needs.

Care plans provided staff with direction and guidance about how to meet people’s individual needs and wishes. These care plans were regularly reviewed and any changes in people’s needs were communicated to staff. Assessments were carried out to identify any risks to the person using the service and to the staff supporting them. This included any environmental risks in people’s homes and any risks in relation to the care and support needs of the person.

People received care from staff who knew them well, and had the knowledge and skills to meet their needs. People and their relatives spoke well of staff, comments included, “I do not know what I would do without them, they (staff) are wonderful people” and “They (staff) are very kind and there is never any rush.”

Staff were knowledgeable about the people they cared for and knew how to recognise if people’s needs changed. Staff were aware of people’s preferences and interests, as well as their health and support needs, which enabled them to provide a personalised service. Staff were kind and compassionate and treated people with dignity and respect.

The management had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and knew how to make sure people who did not have the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves had their legal rights protected. However, there were some consent forms which had been signed by family members who did not have the legal power to do this. We have made a recommendation about this in the report.

The service had robust recruitment practices, which meant staff employed were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Training records showed staff had been provided with all the necessary training which had been refreshed regularly. Staff told us they found the training to be beneficial to their role.

Staff told us they enjoyed their work and received regular supervision, appraisals and training. Staff were complimentary about the management team and how they were supported to carry out their work. The management team were also clearly committed to providing a good service for people. Staff told us there was good communication with the management of the service. Staff told us, “The office are very good at letting us know of any changes” and “You can always get support when you need it.”

There were effective quality assurance systems in place to make sure that any areas for improvement were identified and addressed. People were provided with information on how to raise any concerns they may have. Regular contact was made with people to help ensure they were happy with the service they received.

The service had recently implemented a new electronic call monitoring system which allowed the management team to monitor the visits made by staff in real time. Any visit that had not been carried out by staff at the expected time turned red on the system, immediately alerting office staff to this so that timely action could be taken. Where the provider had identified areas that required improvement, actions had been promptly taken to improve the quality of the service provided.

The service mainly provides care and support for people in visits at key times of the day to help people get up in the morning, go to bed at night and give support with meals. This includes supporting people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and dementia care needs.

At the time of our inspection 113 people were receiving a service. These services were funded either privately, through Cornwall Council or NHS funding.

A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. There was not a registered manager in post at Allied Healthcare at the time of this inspection. However, the manager who was running the service at this time was in the process of applying to be the registered manager.

We carried out this announced inspection on 24 May 2016. We told the service one day before that we would be coming. This was to ensure the manager and other key staff would be available when we visited the agency’s office. It also meant we could arrange to visit people in their own homes to hear about their experiences of the service.

The service was last inspected in December 2013 and was found to be meeting the regulations.

People we spoke with told us they felt safe using the service and told us; “I am very happy with Allied” and “They (the service) are very good.”

Staff had received training in how to recognise and report abuse. All were clear about how to report any concerns and were confident that any allegations made would be fully investigated to help ensure people were protected. There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet the needs of people who used the service. The service was flexible and responded to people’s changing needs.

People told us; “They (the service) are alright, they are quite good at time keeping and will do anything I ask of them” and “I see the same carers every visit, they are nice.”

People were supported to take their medicines by staff who had been appropriately training. People received care from staff who knew them well, and had the knowledge and skills to meet their needs. People and their relatives spoke well of staff, comments included; “We always know who is coming as we get the rota in advance, that is nice for us” and “We have never been missed and the office always let us know if the carers are going to be late for any reason.”

Staff were knowledgeable about the people they cared for and knew how to recognise if people’s needs changed. Staff were aware of people’s preferences and interests, as well as their health and support needs, which enabled them to provide a personalised service. Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and respected their dignity.

Care plans contained detailed and clear guidance for staff about how to meet people’s care and support needs in the way they wished. Risks had been identified, assessed and were monitored for any changes. Staff were guided about how to help ensure any risks were reduced.

The management had a clear understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how to make sure people who did not have the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves had their legal rights protected. Peoples’ advance decisions and their lasting powers of attorney had been recorded and were clear for staff to be aware of if needed.

Staff told us there was good communication with the management of the service. Staff said of management; “They (the management) are supportive” and “If we ring up and say that we cant get round in the time we have been given they change things so we can do the round without being stressed.”

There was a positive culture in the service, the manager provided strong leadership. Some staff had worked for the service for some years and were motivated carers who enjoyed their roles. Staff told us; “I love my job, morale is good as far as I am aware and we get good support” and “We get good training and I had help when I first started by shadowing experienced staff it was really good.”

There were effective quality assurance systems in place to make sure that any areas for improvement were identified and addressed. Where the provider had identified areas that required improvement, actions had been promptly taken to improve the quality of the service provided.