Allcare Agency Limited is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to older people, people with dementia or people with physical disabilities in their own home. At the time of our inspection there were 11 people using the service. Assessment activity started on 18 September 2024 and ended on 25 September 2024. We gave the service 48 hours ‘notice of the inspection. This was because we wanted to make sure someone would be available to support us with the inspection. The last rating for the service was Requires Improvement, published on 15 March 2024. This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection. During this inspection, the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made.
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Allcare Agency Limited received an overall rating of Requires Improvement following a focused inspection in December 2023, with breaches of Regulation 17 (Good Governance) identified due to inadequate learning systems and inaccurate records. Key concerns centred on gaps in staff training, insufficiently detailed care plans, inconsistent medication record-keeping, and audit processes that failed to identify all issues found during inspection.
Concerns (8)
criticalGovernance: “breach of regulation 17 (Good Governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014”
criticalRecord keeping: “records were not always accurate, complete and detailed in respect of each person using the service”
moderateStaff training: “not all staff had been recently trained in fundamental topics for the service provision such as first aid, care planning, dementia and falls awareness”
moderateCare planning: “the care plan for someone living with Parkinson's disease did not contain information specific to that condition”
moderateMedication management: “we saw a record of a PRN medication having been given without the dosage and the reason being included in the notes”
moderateStaff competency: “the assessment was taking place by the deputy manager whose competency had not been recently assessed”
minorSupervision / appraisal: “the records contained no evidence of individual and professional development”
minorIncident learning: “Even though improvements had been made, there were still areas to improve following our previous inspection.”
Strengths
· People felt safe and staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures and reporting concerns
· Robust recruitment system in place including DBS checks and right-to-work verification
· Adequate staffing levels with positive feedback on punctuality and communication about delays
· Positive feedback from external health professionals about staff escalation and responsiveness
· Infection control practices were safe with adequate PPE supplies
Quality-Statement breakdown (15)
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuse and avoidable harmGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementRequires improvement
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Using medicines safelyRequires improvement
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongRequires improvement
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawRequires improvement
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceRequires improvement
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietRequires improvement
effective: Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely careGood
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceGood
well-led: Promoting a positive culture; continuous learning and improving careRequires improvement
well-led: Working in partnership with others; duty of candourGood
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about roles, quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsRequires improvement
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staffGood