Alina Homecare - Brentwood

Updated 9 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 service was inspected by two inspectors.

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 not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been in post for three months and had submitted an application to register. We are currently assessing this application.

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.

Inspection activity started on 26 September 2022 and ended on 20 October 2022. We visited the location’s office/service on 28 September 2022.

What we did before the inspection

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

During the inspection

We spoke to two relatives and three staff members. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records and medication records. We looked at three 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 spoke with the nominated individual as part of the inspection. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Following the inspection we continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training and quality assurance records.

Updated 9 November 2022

About the service

Alina Homecare - Brentwood is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 11 people using the service.

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

Prior to our inspection, the service had undertaken a complete change in staff and management. During this period, the provider had reassured people and those important to them and kept them informed of all changes. People told us they had been given the opportunity to meet the new manager and spoke highly about the staff, the culture of the service and the care provided.

Medicines were managed safely and administered by trained staff. Medicine audits were able to highlight any errors so appropriate action could then be taken to reduce a reoccurrence. Checks were undertaken to ensure staff continued to be competent administering medicines.

People felt safe and their safety had been maximised with the systems that were in place. Staff knew how to protect people from the risk of harm through abuse. Where concerns were raised these were reported and acted upon.

Recruitment practices were safe and checks were carried out to make sure staff were suitable to work with people who needed care and support.

Staff received the training they required to meet people’s needs. Staff spoke positively about the support they received from the manager and told us they felt listened to.

Staff were kind and caring towards people. Staff respected people's privacy and dignity. Staff knew people well and had knowledge about people's histories, likes and dislikes. People's equality, diversity and human rights were promoted and respected.

People's needs were comprehensively assessed with them at the centre of their care and support. Care plans promoted people's independence and were personalised to meet their individual needs.

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.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service people received. The management team were committed to providing a high-quality service to people with a strive to continuous improvement.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Ratings at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 19 April 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection because the service had not been inspected or rated.

Follow up

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