Alina Homecare Devizes

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 our last inspection we found quality monitoring had not identified some shortfalls with clinical training for staff. At this inspection we found improvement had been made. Staff working with people with specific clinical needs had received the training they needed and been assessed for competence.

Quality monitoring systems were in place at the branch level and at a higher provider level. Office staff carried out various checks to make sure staff were working to the provider's standards. This included unannounced checks in people's homes and telephone calls to people and their relatives.

Risk management plans were in place to give staff personalised guidance on how best to support people safely. Plans had been reviewed and updated when needed. Incidents and accidents were recorded and reviewed by the management to makes sure any action needed was taken. The provider also had oversight of incidents to help with identifying any patterns or trends.

People were supported by enough staff. Some comments about staffing demonstrated some people felt there was a shortage of staff. The registered manager told us they had enough staff for current packages but were in the process of recruiting more staff. They told us they would like to meet the local demand for care at home but were not able to take on any new people at this time. There had been no missed visits and people and relatives told us they felt the service was safe.

Staff had been recruited safely and provided with training and support for their roles. Staff told us they felt well supported by the provider and there was good teamwork. Staff could attend meetings and visit the office when they needed to. The provider had a range of staff rewards on offer including 'carer of the month' and financial bonuses.

People were able to share their views regularly. The provider carried out quality calls via the telephone and

an annual survey. Results from 2021 demonstrated that across the provider's services people were happy with their care worker. Audits were completed regularly, and the branch had a twice-yearly full audit carried out by the provider's quality team.

Overall comments about the management of the service were positive. People, relatives and staff said the management were approachable and would deal with any of their issues. Some people and relatives preferred to communicate with the deputy manager as they appreciated her depth of knowledge for their particular care situations and commented positively on her timely responses.

Staff had access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and received training and guidance on working safely during COVID-19. Staff were testing for COVID-19 following the current government guidance. People told us staff wore their PPE when needed and kept their homes clean during their visits.