Archived: Care Quality Services Sunderland

Allied Health-Services LTD Sunderland is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of inspection 172 people were receiving personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People and relatives spoke positively about the service and felt it was safe and staff were caring. Comments from people included, “The carers are fantastic,” and, “The girls are so helpful, brilliant. I’d have nothing said against them.”

There were systems in place to keep people safe. Staff safeguarded people from abuse where possible. Risks to people’s health, safety and well-being were managed. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and safe recruitment processes were followed. Medicines were safely administered and managed. The provider learned from previous accidents and incidents to reduce future risks.

People’s needs were assessed before they received support. Staff received regular training and were supported through regular supervisions, observations and annual appraisals. Staff supported people with their nutritional needs and to access a range of health care professionals. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff supported people in a respectful, dignified manner. One person said, “They [staff] treat me with respect and kindness.” People were encouraged to maintain their independence and had advocates in place, where required.

People received person-centred care. Care plans detailed how people wanted to be supported by staff with different tasks. Complaints were investigated and actioned. People and relatives knew how to raise any concerns and felt confident in doing so.

People and relatives were happy with the service and felt it was well-managed. The registered manager promoted an open and honest culture and was approachable. The provider had an effective quality assurance process in place which included regular audits. People and relatives were regularly consulted about the quality of the service through surveys and reviews. Staff were involved in the ongoing development and improvement of the service through surveys and regular communication.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 15/10/2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to formally rate the service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.