Archived: L K Recruitment Limited

Updated 7 July 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection was conducted by a single inspector who visited L K Recruitment offices on 21 September 2017. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be available to speak to us.

Before the inspection, we reviewed all the information we held about the service. This included registration information as well as routine notifications and safeguarding records. Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, care co-ordinator and office manager. We looked at six people's care files and five staff files which included their recruitment, training, supervision and appraisal records. We also reviewed the systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care people received.

After the inspection we spoke to six people who use the service, two relatives and six staff members.

Updated 7 July 2021

This inspection took place on 21 September 2017 and was announced.

The service is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people in their own homes. People received support through scheduled visits. At the time of our inspection there were 53 people using the service.

At our previous inspection in May 2016 we found breaches of the regulations in relation to the arrangements in place to ensure people received their medicines safely, how the provider supported its staff through training and appraisal and the systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care people received. The overall rating for the service was, "requires improvement." We asked the provider to tell us how and when they would make the required improvements. Some of these actions have been completed. However the provider had not made improvements to the systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care people received.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

Registered providers must notify the CQC about certain changes, events and incidents that affect their service or the people who use it. The provider did not notify CQC of notifiable events such as allegations of abuse. This meant the CQC did not have full oversight of the risks associated with the service.

People told us that staff were regularly late and did not stay for the time allotted. People also told us they had experienced missed visits. This meant that care was not always delivered in accordance with people's care plans.

Staff knew how to recognise abuse and report any concerns. Risk assessments were carried out to evaluate any risks to the person using the service. Where risks were identified, risk management plans were in place for staff to follow.

People told us the staff were caring and treated them with respect. People were involved in planning their care and were asked for their consent before care was provided. Staff understood the main principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how it applied to people in their care.

People were supported to have a sufficient amount to eat and drink which minimised the risk of malnutrition and dehydration. Staff liaised well with external healthcare providers which assisted people to maintain their health. People told us they received their medicines as prescribed.

The provider did not have an effective system in place to receive, respond to and learn from complaints from people or their advocates. The system in place did not allow for complaints made over the telephone to be recorded, investigated and responded to.

Staff were recruited using an effective procedure which was consistently applied. Staff were appropriately supported by the provider through training, supervision and appraisal. However, staff did not feel listened to by the provider and staff morale was low.

There were a variety of systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care people received. However these were not always effective in identifying areas which required improvement. Where the provider was aware that an area of the service required improvement they did not always take action to make the required improvements.

We found breaches of the regulations in relation to the provider's failure to protect people from neglect, the provider's failure to notify the CQC of notifiable events and the lack of effective systems to handle complaints and to assess and monitor the quality of care people received. You can see what action we asked the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

Full information about CQC's regulatory response to any concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.