The Care Quality Commission

Archived: Alpenbest

Suite 1, 88 Bushey Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 0JH (020) 8946 9797

Provided and run by:
Alpenbest Limited

Important: This service is now registered at a different address - see new profile

All Inspections

16 July 2013

During a routine inspection

We visited the agency and met with the provider, three office staff and four of the care staff. We spoke by telephone with thirty three people who used the service or their relatives. We also spoke, by telephone, to a further six members of care staff and the trainer who was employed by the service.

There was a mixture of views about the care provided by the agency. Two thirds of the people we spoke with were complimentary about the care and services provided. They said that the care workers did a good job and there was good communication from the office. One person said 'I could not fault them' and another said 'I could not praise the carers enough'.

Four people said the care worked well with a regular care worker but not when they were away. Someone told us 'It works well when X is here but not when they are away.' Three people told us that they were unhappy with the service and that calls they had made to the office had not improved things. One person said 'We are not very satisfied at all. They are often late and we can't always understand them.'

We looked at records and saw appropriate safeguarding procedures were in place. Most people we spoke with felt safe with the care provided. Adequate staff recruitment checks were in place and induction training had taken place. The staff told us that they felt well supported from the office and that they received appropriate training to meet the people's needs they care for. There were a range of systems in place to help monitor the quality of the service and to encourage improvements in the service.