Archived: Allied Healthcare - Doncaster

Updated 20 May 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 28 & 29 January 2015. We told the registered manager one day before our visit that we would be coming. We did this because the registered manager is sometimes out of the office supporting staff or visiting people who used the service. We needed to be sure that they would be in. The inspection team was made up of one social care inspector 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 service.

Before our inspection, we reviewed information we held about the service, which included incident notifications they had sent us. We contacted Doncaster Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We also obtained information from Doncaster Council who commission services from the provider.

As part of the inspection we undertook phone calls and spoke with seventeen people who used the service and members of their households to get their views of the service.

During our inspection we visited the Allied Healthcare - Doncaster office and spoke with the registered manager and the deputy manager, two care coordinators, two senior carers and two care workers. We reviewed the care records of four people who used the service, reviewed the records for four staff and looked at records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 20 May 2015

We undertook an announced inspection of Allied Healthcare - Doncaster on 28 and 29 January 2015. We told the registered manager that we would be coming one day before our visit. At our last inspection in January 2014 the service was meeting the regulations we inspected.

Allied Healthcare - Doncaster is a domiciliary care service. They are registered to provide personal care to adults and children in their own homes. At the time of our inspection 93 people were receiving a personal care service.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

We spoke with seventeen people who used the service and their relatives on the telephone. We did this to get their views of the service. Everyone was very happy with the service and said they would recommend it to others. Their comments included, “I’m happy with the carer I’ve got and I’m very happy with the service”, “Everything’s OK. The carers are top notch and I’m highly satisfied”, “They’re perfect. It’s very good and I’m very happy with them” and “I’m happy with the care they are providing.”

People were kept safe and free from harm. There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs and provide a flexible service.

Staff received regular training relevant to their roles and responsibilities. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and support needs.

Staff knew the people they were supporting and provided a personalised service. Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their care. People told us they liked the staff and looked forward to them coming to their homes.

People were provided with appropriate support to eat and drink. Staff supported people to have access to their GP and other healthcare professionals, as required to meet people’s needs.

Members of the management team were accessible and approachable. They undertook spot checks to review the quality of the service provided. Staff, people who used the service and relatives felt able to speak with them and provide feedback on the service.