Akos Care Limited

Akos Care Limited is a supported living service providing personal care for 5 people, some of whom had learning disabilities. The service provides support to people living in their own home. At the time of our inspection there were 5 people using the service. Each person had their own bedroom, the bathrooms and kitchen were shared.

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

Right Support:

People's medicines were not managed safely. We found gaps in medicine records and staff had not been assessed for their competency in this area. People's communication needs had not been assessed; staff did not have guidance to support them to communicate effectively. People's risk management plans lacked details for staff to follow, this put people at risk of harm. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests; individual activity plans were in place for people.

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

Right Care:

People’s care plans did not reflect their range of needs or preferences. Care plans were not personalised. People told us staff were kind and caring. We observed staff being respectful in their interactions with people, staff protected people’s dignity and right to privacy. There was no system to monitor how people were progressing with goals or reaching outcomes.

Right Culture:

The leadership team did not have clear oversight of the service. There was no quality assurance system in place. No audits of the quality of care had taken place. There was an improvement plan in place, but actions were outstanding. The provider did not involve people, staff and relatives in the running of the service. People, relatives, and staff were not given the opportunity to provide feedback, therefore improvements or changes could not be made to the quality of care. The provider carried out a needs assessment however it was not comprehensive and did not include information about nutrition and hydration or people’s communication needs.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 25 January 2023) and breaches of regulations were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the management of medicine, safeguarding procedures, governance and risk management plans. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

Enforcement and recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, good governance and person-centred care. Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

About the service

Akos Care Limited is a supported living service providing personal care for 2 people. The service provides support to people living in their own home. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people using the service. The home is shared by 4 people, each person had their own bedroom, the bathrooms and kitchen were shared.

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.

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

Right Support:

Staff supported people with their medicines however this was not done safely. One person’s medicine record was not completed accurately. People’s medicines were not listed in their care plans and there was no guidance for staff to follow in the event of an error. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs, however communication needs had not been assessed by the provider. Staff supported people to make some decisions about their care, however there was no record of these decisions and how people were involved. People’s risk assessments lacked details for staff to follow, this put people at risk of harm. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests, individual activity plans were in place for people. Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.

People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.

Right Care:

The service did not have a robust safeguarding process in place, this put people at risk of harm. People’s care plans were not personalised, nor were people’s preferences recorded. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs. People told us staff were caring and kind. The provider promoted people’s independence.

Right Culture:

The quality of care was not monitored by the provider, this meant improvements could not be made to the care being delivered. The service did not involve people, relatives or staff in the running of the service. Staff did not seek people’s views which meant people did not have a voice. The provider had not assessed people needs prior to using the service, therefore we cannot say who was involved in people’s care planning. There was not a clear complaints process in place, we have recommended the provider review their current complaints process.

This service was registered with us on 27/01/2022 and this is the first inspection.

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

Rating at last inspection

This is the first rating for this service.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the management of medicine, safeguarding procedures, governance and risk management plans. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, good governance, safeguarding and person-centred care, at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.