Background to this inspection
Updated
6 May 2017
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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.
This inspection took place on 27 and 28 March 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location was a domiciliary care agency and we wanted to ensure there was someone available to assist us with the inspection. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Prior to our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. This included previous inspection reports, information received and statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We contacted some professionals who have contact with the service and asked them for their views. We sent out survey forms to some people who use the service, their relatives, staff and healthcare professionals and we took their comments into consideration during the inspection.
During the inspection we spoke with 17 people who used the service and three relatives to ask them about their views and experiences of using the service. We had discussions about the service with eleven staff consisting of seven care workers, two care coordinators and a field supervisor. We also spoke with a regional clinical lead nurse who supervised the complex care packages, the registered manager for this service and the care delivery director who managed services belonging to Nestor Primecare Services Limited in this region.
We considered information contained in some of the records held at the service. This included the care records for four people, staff training records, three staff recruitment files and other records kept by the registered manager as part of their management and auditing of the service.
Updated
6 May 2017
This announced inspection was carried out on 27 and 28 March 2017.Allied Healthcare Nottingham provides support and personal care, to people living in their own homes in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. This includes some people who have complex care packages. When we carried out the inspection visits there were 119 people using the service who received personal care.
The service had a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. 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.
People were supported by staff who understood the risks people could face and knew how to make people feel safe. People were encouraged to be independent and risks were mitigated in the least restrictive way possible.
People were provided with the care and support they required by staff who were trained and supported to do so. People provided consent to their care when needed.
People were supported to consume a sufficient amount of food and fluids that promoted their wellbeing. People received support from staff who understood their health needs.
People were treated with respect by staff who demonstrated kindness and understanding. People were involved in making decisions about their care and support. They were shown respect and treated with dignity in the way they wished to be.
People were usually able to influence the way their care and support was delivered. People were supported and encouraged to share any issues or concerns they had so these could be investigated and acted upon. Where it had been identified that people did not know how to complain action was underway to rectify this.
People who used the service and care workers were able to express their views about the service which were acted upon. The management team provided leadership that gained the respect of care workers and motivated them as a team.
There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and make improvements when needed. The registered manager was making improvements to the way records were audited.