Archived: Allied Healthcare - Huddersfield

Updated 18 November 2014

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and three experts by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.  

Before the inspection we reviewed all the information we held about the service. We also spoke with the local authority contracting team. The provider completed a Provider Information Return detailing information about the service which is requested by the Commission. This was returned prior to the inspection.  

During our inspection, we spoke with 32 of the 230 people who used the service and 15 relatives. We also spoke with nine members of staff and the registered manager.  

This inspection was carried out over two days. During our visit we spent time looking eight people’s care records, three staff recruitment records and records relating to the management of the service.

This report was written during the testing phase of our new approach to regulating adult social care services. After this testing phase, inspection of consent to care and treatment, restraint, and practice under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) was moved from the key question ‘Is the service safe?’ to ‘Is the service effective?’.

The ratings for this location were awarded in October 2014. They can be directly compared with any other service we have rated since then, including in relation to consent, restraint, and the MCA under the ‘Effective’ section. Our written findings in relation to these topics, however, can be read in the ‘Is the service safe’ sections of this report.

Updated 18 November 2014

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 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service.

We inspected Allied Healthcare Huddersfield on 23 July 2014 and the visit was announced. 

Our last inspection took place on 10 March 2014 and, at that time, we found the service was not meeting the regulations relating to care and welfare of people who use services, supporting workers and complaints. We asked them to make improvements. The provider sent us an action plan telling us what they were going to do to make sure they were meeting the regulations. On this visit we checked and found improvements had been made.

Allied Healthcare Huddersfield is registered to provide nursing and personal care and support for people living in their own homes and in the community. This includes support with shopping, personal care, eating and drinking. On the day of our inspection 230 people were using the service.

There was a registered manager in post at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and shares with the provider the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law, as does the provider.

The service had systems in place to protect people from the risk of harm. Staff we spoke with were aware of their responsibilities in reporting abuse.

Staff demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the need to obtain people’s consent prior to providing care and support.

In each of the care records we looked at we saw risk assessments were in place which identified potential risk and the actions required to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm.

The service has recently implemented a new shift system for staff. Feedback from people who used the service was varied. Some people we spoke with thought they saw a higher number of different care staff than they had previously. 

People we spoke with felt staff were trained and competent to do their job. We saw from care records and speaking with people and staff, that people were happy with the support they received to eat and drink.

People who used the service told us the majority of staff were kind and caring. Staff we spoke with talked about their job with empathy and understanding.

In each of the care records we looked at we saw they contained detailed information about people’s likes, dislikes and personal preferences. 

Feedback from people who used the service was mixed. A number of people we spoke with expressed concern that they not made aware if their care workers were going to be late or if there was a change of care worker.

The service had taken action since our last inspection to improve how concerns and complaints were managed. We reviewed how the service handled complaints to make sure concerns raised were thoroughly investigated and responded to in a timely manner.

The registered manager had evidenced good knowledge and understanding of the service they led. There were effective systems in place which demonstrated the service consistently assessed and monitored the quality of service people received.