Archived: Altogether Care LLP- Bradford on Avon Care at Home

Altogether Care LLP Bradford on Avon is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in and around Bradford on Avon, Trowbridge and Westbury.

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. On the day of the inspection, 51 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

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

People told us they felt safe using the service. People were cared for by staff who knew how to keep them safe and protect them from avoidable harm. One person said, “I am very happy with the carers I have and feel extremely safe with them.” There were enough staff available to meet people's needs. People were supported to take their medicines safely. Incidents and accidents were reported, investigated and actions taken to prevent recurrence.

People's needs were assessed, and care plans were in place. People were cared for by staff who had been trained to carry out their roles and who were knowledgeable about the support people needed. One person said, “The carers have received enough training for them to be capable of doing my care. If there are ever new carers, they always shadow a more experienced one.” 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. People and their relatives told us staff supported them to access healthcare and other support services.

People told us they were cared for by kind and compassionate staff. Comments included, “I have a great connection with my carers. They chat away to me and my [relative]. We know we can have a laugh and a joke with them” and “I have a good rapport with all the carers who come and we do have a laugh and a joke.” One person’s relative said, “When [relative] is down in the dumps the carers cheer her up and one carer in particular is good at this. [Relative] really likes her.” Staff understood the need to respect people's privacy and dignity.

Staff were knowledgeable about people's support needs as well as people's preferences for how they were cared for. People's feedback was sought. There was a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to complain if they needed to.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of care provided and continuously improve the service. Staff spoke highly of the manager and said the service was a good place to work. One staff member said, “I love the bosses, I feel very reassured and love my job.” We have made a recommendation about the oversight of staff testing for Covid-19.

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 15/07/2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was planned, as the service had not received a comprehensive inspection or been awarded a rating since registration.

Follow up

We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.