Archived: Curant Care

Updated 9 September 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 28 July 2022 and ended on 2 August 2022. We visited the location’s office on 28th July 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We requested feedback from Healthwatch also. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with eight people who used the service and their relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager, senior carers and care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 9 September 2022

About the service

Curant Care Kent is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 24 people using the service. 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 the time of this inspection the agency was providing support with personal care to 22 people with a range of needs such as older people and physically disabilities.

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

Feedback we received on the service and its management was positive. People felt safe with staff and they demonstrated knowledge of different types of abuse and what actions to take when they felt people were at risk of harm.

People were supported by staff who had been recruited safely. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and people told us staff arrived on time and stayed the duration needed. Risks to people had been assessed and guidance was in place for staff to minimise these. Risks were reviewed regularly, and changes made to people’s care plans as necessary.

Care plans, which detailed people’s needs, were detailed, person centred and contained the relevant and important information staff needed to support people in the way they wished.

Medicines people required support with were managed safely and records kept by the registered manager were reviewed and audited regularly to ensure any errors could be identified and rectified promptly.

Staff supported people to stay as safe as possible and minimise the risk of infections. Staff had access to Personal Protective Equipment and had completed infection control training.

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. Policies and systems in the service were written with this in mind.

People were treated with respect; dignity was maintained, and independence was encouraged. Staff told us they were able to get to know who they were supporting as a person. Feedback from people and their relatives told us people were supported in a person-centred way.

The registered manager worked closely with the staff teams and staff told us they could always contact the office team when they needed support.

Appropriate and effective checks and audits of the service were completed to ensure people were receiving good care and support. The registered manager had appropriate policies and procedures which provided guidance to staff and people using the service.

Staff told us they felt valued and supported by the registered manager and were happy working for the service.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 8 June 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.