17 August 2017
During a routine inspection
Allied Healthcare in Huddersfield provides a homecare service in the Kirklees and Calderdale area of Yorkshire. At the time of the inspection 89 people were using the service.
The service had a registered manager. 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. The registered manager was absent from work at the time of the inspection and did not return. The service support manager and a care delivery manager were working at the service for part of the week to provide management support.
People we spoke with told us they were generally happy with the service provided and they felt safe with Allied Healthcare Huddersfield. Staff had received safeguarding training and they were aware of their responsibility to report any concerns to their manager. The service had procedures in place for identifying and following up allegations of abuse, and staff demonstrated a good knowledge of the procedures to follow.
Care plans contained risk assessments which were relevant to people’s individual needs and the environment and contained sufficient detail to provide direction for staff in how to reduce risks to people.
People told us staff were usually on time and visits were very rarely missed. The service had effective contingency plans in place in the event of unforeseen changes in staff availability.
The registered provider had a robust system in place to vet potential employees. All staff who administered medicines were trained and assessed as competent. This meant people received their medicines from people who had the appropriate knowledge and skills.
Staff told us they felt supported. New employees were supported in their role completing a thorough induction and shadowing more experienced staff and there was a programme of on-going refresher training for existing staff. Staff told us they received supervision to ensure they had the skills and competence to meet people’s needs.
People told us they were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People told us staff were caring and kind. People’s privacy and dignity was respected and care plans reflected the need to encourage people to retain their independence. The service catered for people's diverse needs and people were matched to care staff to provide continuity of care.
People had care plans in place which noted the tasks they required support with, as well as detail about their choices and preferences. Staff told us these were reflective of people’s needs and we saw these were updated regularly.
An effective complaints procedure was in place and people told us staff were approachable.
People who used the service told us the service was well-led and they were generally happy with the care provided. Some people told us there had been a lot of management changes over the last year, but this had now improved.
The registered provider had a system in place to monitor the performance of the service. Staff were monitored at regular intervals and audits were completed of people’s daily records, care plans and staff files. The registered provider asked people who used the service and staff for feedback and this information was reviewed and used to improve the service.