About the service:

Melody Care Alton is a domiciliary care service that was providing personal care to 41 people at the time of the inspection. The service is provided to people living in the Alton and Bordon areas. Melody Care Alton provide care to younger and older people who may live with a disability, mental health diagnosis or dementia.

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

People’s experience of using this service:

People liked the staff who provided their care and enjoyed their company. Their comments included, “Ever since I have been with them all I can say is they are all very good at what they do.”

People felt very well supported by staff. They reported they received a good quality service, which they felt was well managed.

They told us staff had the skills required to provide their care effectively.

Staff were interested in people and their welfare. They treated them with respect and dignity.

People were kept safe and risks to them were assessed and well managed. Staff understood what to report for people’s safety and how.

People had individualised care plans drawn up in consultation with them. These were regularly reviewed with people and updated as changes occurred.

The providers values, induction, staff training and on-going support, ensured staff understood and upheld people’s human rights during the delivery of their care.

Staff put into practice the provider’s values of kindness, respect and reliance.

The registered manager had taken action to ensure all staff were up to date with their practical moving and handling training, in addition to their theory and competency assessments.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated good (11 March 2017).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection to check that this service remained good.

Follow up:

We did not identify any concerns at this inspection. We will therefore re-inspect this service within the published timeframe for services rated good. We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.

The inspection took place on 13 February 2017 and was announced to ensure staff we needed to speak with were available. Melody Care Alton is registered to provide personal care to older people living in their own homes. They provide a service to people living with dementia, people with a learning disability, people with a mental health diagnosis, people with a physical disability and younger adults. At the time of the inspection there were 33 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

The service had two registered managers, one of whom was also the provider. 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 told us staff kept them safe. Processes were in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Staff had undergone relevant training and understood their role and responsibility to safeguard people.

People and their relatives said staff had a good understanding of any risks to them and how to manage these safely. Risk assessments were in place; which staff were familiar with. Staff had undergone relevant training to ensure people were supported with their care safely.

Staff’s experience and skills were taken into account when matching staff to people to ensure people were provided with sufficiently skilled staff to meet their needs. People and their relatives informed us care was provided at the preferred time by regular care staff. The provider had robust recruitment systems in place to ensure the recruitment of suitable staff.

Medicines were administered to people by appropriately trained staff. The provider’s electronic care records system ensured staff had access to up to date information about peoples’ medicines and alerted them and office staff if a person’s medicines were missed or not signed for, to ensure appropriate action was taken.

Staff underwent an induction to their role when they commenced work with the provider. They undertook a range of relevant training and were encouraged and supported to undertake professional qualifications. Staff underwent regular spot checks and supervision to support them and ensure their work with people was of the required standard.

Staff had undertaken Mental Capacity Act training and had access to relevant guidance in the event they needed to assess a person’s mental capacity in relation to the making of a specific decision. People and their relatives confirmed staff sought people’s consent for their care.

Staff ensured people ate and drank sufficient for their needs. Risks to people associated with eating had been identified and addressed for them. Staff supported people where required to ensure their health care needs were met.

People and relatives all told us that people experienced very caring and positive relationships with the care staff; with whom they had developed a good rapport. People were cared for by staff who were interested in them and cared about them. People’s records demonstrated and staff confirmed that people were consulted about decisions in relation to the provision of their care.

People and their relatives confirmed people’s privacy and dignity was maintained during the provision of care. Staff were expected by the provider to uphold people’s privacy and dignity and understood how to achieve this for people.

People and their relatives told us people received personalised care; the provision of which they had been consulted about and which met the person’s needs. People’s care needs were assessed, regularly reviewed with them and any adjustments made. People’s independence was promoted in the provision of their care. Where either the person or the commissioner had requested that the person was provided with opportunities for social stimula