Archived: Allied Healthcare Bridlington

Updated 21 November 2014

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.

We visited this service on 17 July 2014. The inspection team consisted of an inspector who visited the agency office and visited some people in their own home, 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 care service.

Before this inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service, such as notifications we had received from the registered person and information we had received from the local authority who commissioned a service from the agency.  We also looked at the information the registered person had submitted to the Commission in their provider information return (PIR) and the responses we received in 15 questionnaires that were returned from people who used the service.

On the day of the inspection we spoke with three care workers, a care coordinator who worked for the service, the quality manager and the registered manager. We spent time looking at records, which included the care records for three people who received a service from the agency, staff records and records relating to the management of the home.

Following the inspection we visited four people who lived in their own home and spoke on the telephone to eight people who used the service.

Updated 21 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 provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014. The inspection was announced.

Allied Healthcare Bridlington provides a domiciliary care service to people who live in their own home. They currently provide a service for approximately 200 people with a variety of care needs, including older people and people with a physical disability. They employ approximately 70 care staff and, in addition to this, they employ care coordinators who help to manage the service.

At the last inspection of the service on 19 September 2013 we found that the provider had met the standards that we reviewed.   

There was a registered manager in post as the time of this inspection; they registered with the Commission on 6 August 2012.  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.

People told us they felt safe whilst staff were in their home. We found that staff had a good knowledge of how to keep people safe from harm and that there were enough staff to meet people’s needs.  Staff had been employed following robust recruitment and selection processes.

Some people received assistance with taking their medication. All staff had completed training on how to use the medication system and all of the people we spoke with said they were satisfied with the way in which they were supported with this task.

People’s nutritional needs had been assessed and people told us they were satisfied with the support they received with the preparation of meals and drinks.

People were involved in developing their plan of care and had their own copy. Staff recorded what they had done at each visit so that there was always an up to date record of the support provided to each person and their current care needs. People told us they were happy with the support they received from care workers and the agency had arrangements in place to seek the feedback from people about the care they received.

Staff received a range of training opportunities and told us that they had supervision and staff meetings with a manager. They said that they were well supported and that this helped them to deliver effective care. 

There were quality monitoring systems in place and there was evidence that the registered provider and manager learned from incidents that had occurred. However, some people told us the agency was not well managed and that staff were not as professional as they should be.