Alternative Means

Updated 9 December 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 9, 10 and 14 November 2017 was announced. The provider was given 72 hours’ notice because the location provides care in people’s homes and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in. The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

Before our inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. We reviewed notifications of incidents that the provider had sent us since their registration. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law.

We reviewed the information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During our inspection we met with three people who used the service and contacted eight relatives and two carers for their views on the service. We received 11 comment cards from people during the inspection. We spoke with three staff during the inspection and the registered manager.

We looked at three records which related to people’s individual care needs. We viewed three staff recruitment files, training evidence and records associated with the management of the service. This included policies and procedures, people and staff feedback, and the complaints process.

Updated 9 December 2017

Alternative Means is domiciliary (home care) service providing personal care to people in Pulborough and surrounding areas. Some people had additional services offered by the provider including domestic, recreational and companionship help. This inspection took place on 9, 10 and 14 November 2017. 72 hours’ notice was given as the service is small and we needed to be sure the registered manager would be available when we visited the agency offices. This time also enabled the registered manager to arrange home visits. This allowed us to hear about people’s experiences of the service.

At the last inspection in June 2015, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good.

At the time of the inspection, the service was providing personal care to 20 people.

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 in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People and their relatives told us staff were caring and kind. Staff demonstrated kindness and compassion for people through their conversations and interactions. People’s privacy and dignity was promoted. People were actively involved in making choices and decisions about how they wanted to live their lives. People were protected from abuse because staff understood what action to take if they were concerned someone was being abused or mistreated.

People received care which was responsive to their needs. People and their relatives were encouraged to be part of the care planning process and to attend or contribute to care reviews where possible. This helped to ensure the care being provided met people’s individual needs and preferences. Support plans were personalised and guided staff to help people in the way they liked.

Risks associated with people’s care and living environment were effectively managed to ensure their freedom was promoted. People were supported by consistent staff to help meet their needs. People’s independence was encouraged and staff helped people feel valued by engaging in everyday tasks where they were able for example peeling vegetables. The registered manager and provider wanted to ensure the right staff were employed, so recruitment practices were safe and ensured that checks had been undertaken. People’s medicines were managed safely.

People received care from staff who had undertaken training to be able to meet their unique needs. People’s human rights were protected because the registered manager and staff had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People’s nutritional needs were met because staff followed people’s support plans to make sure people were eating and drinking enough and potential risks were known. People were supported to access health care professionals to maintain their health and wellbeing.

Policies and procedures across the service ensured information was given to people in accessible formats when required. People were treated equally and fairly. Staff adapted their communication methods dependent upon people’s needs for example simple questions and information was given to people with cognitive difficulties and information about the service available in larger print for those people with visual impairments.

The service was well led by a registered manager and provider and supported by a small, dedicated team. There were quality assurance systems in place to help assess the ongoing quality of the service, and to help identify any areas which might require improvement. Complaints and incidents such as medicine errors were learned from to ensure improvement. The registered manager and provider promoted the ethos of honesty and admitted when things had gone wrong. The service kept abreast of changes to maintain quality care.