This was an announced inspection which took place on 19 April 2018.

Alina Homecare Reading is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It currently, provides a service to older adults and younger adults. At the time of the visit the agency was supporting 28 people who were receiving a regulated activity.

This was the first inspection of the service which was registered on 16 May 2017.The service was rated as good in all domains. This means the service is overall good.

There was a registered manager running the service. 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, staff and visitors were protected from harm and safety was maintained by staff who had been trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults and health and safety policies and procedures. Staff understood how to protect the people in their care and knew what action to take if they identified any concerns. General risks and risks to individuals were identified and action was taken to reduce them, as far as possible. People were supported to take their medicines safely (if they needed support in this area) and medicines given were recorded accurately. People were supported by care staff who had been safely recruited.

People benefitted from adequate staffing as the required number of staff were provided to ensure people’s needs could be met safely and effectively.

People were supported by care staff who had been trained and supported to make sure they could meet people’s complex and varied needs. Care staff were effective in meeting people’s needs as described in plans of care. The service was worked closely with health and other professionals to ensure they were able to meet people’s specific needs.

People were assisted to have maximum choice and control of their lives and care staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People benefited because care was provided by a caring and committed staff team. Care staff built close relationships with people and knew their needs. The management team and care staff were aware of people’s equality and diversity needs which were noted on plans of care. People were encouraged to be as independent as they were able to be.

The service was person centred, flexible and responsive to individual’s current and changing needs. People’s needs were reviewed regularly to ensure the care provided was up-to-date. Care plans included information to ensure people’s individual communication needs were understood.

The registered manager was described as very approachable and supportive. The registered manager and the staff team were committed to ensuring there was no discrimination relating to staff or people in the service. The service assessed, reviewed and improved the quality of care provided.