We carried out a review of the data available to us about Kimberley Care Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Kimberley Care Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
Kimberley Care is a domiciliary care service which was providing personal care to 19 people at the time of the inspection.
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
The provider kept people safe by assessing risks and ensuring staff were trained to identify abuse should it happen. Staff were safely recruited and there were sufficient staff to meet the care requirements of people. Medicines were safely managed, and the provider issued staff with PPE to minimise the transfer of infection.
A full assessment of needs took place when peoples care packages began and this was regularly updated as their needs changed. Staff completed an induction and a training package on commencing in post and were supported through supervision and appraisal. Staff supported people with nutrition and the provider signposted people to suitable meal provision. Staff knew the people they cared for well and would alert their GP if they had concerns about their health or wellbeing. The provider was working within the principles of the MCA.
Staff knew people well and had developed positive relationships with people. People were encouraged to participate in their reviews and care planning. Staff supported people to develop their independence, and if possible enabled them to move to less intensive support.
People and their relatives were happy with the flexibility the provider offered with support. Information was provided in the most appropriate way for people and the Accessible Information Standard had been met. People knew how to complain and were happy with outcomes to any concerns they had raised.
We received mixed feedback about people’s care calls, sometimes timings were not exact, and people found this impacted on the rest of their day. Reviews were person centred and the approach taken within them was supportive to people’s needs. A quality assurance questionnaire was issued annually, and feedback was mostly positive. The provider had positive working relationships with local social care professionals however needed to work on some relationships with healthcare professionals.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 27 January 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Kimberley Care Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Kimberley Care provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection, they were providing a service to 40 people with a variety of care needs, including people living with physical frailty or memory loss. The service is managed from an office based in Eastleigh.
There was a registered manager in place. 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, relatives, staff and professionals told us the provider had a clear, supportive management structure in place. The registered manager and managing director were actively involved in the day-to-day running of the service and knew people well, stepping in to help deliver care if needed and monitoring and reviewing people’s care as their needs changed.
Staff were suitably trained and supported in their work and knew how to meet people’s needs. Training included opportunities for staff to experience and practice care tasks. Many staff were completing additional qualifications in health and social care to extend their skills and knowledge in their role. Staff followed legislation designed to protect people’s rights and freedom and were confident in identifying and report concerns about people.
People told us that staff were caring and compassionate. Many staff had worked with people over a long period and had formed close working relationships with them. People told us that there were sufficient numbers of staff available who provided consistent care at agreed times.
People were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care needs. The registered manager had an open door policy where feedback was valued and people felt listened too. People told us that they were confident in making a complaint and that issues raised had been resolved quickly and appropriately.
Risks relating to people were managed safely. The service sought to put measures in place to reduce the risk to people and staff, whilst respecting people’s choice and independence in their own homes. Risks related to emergencies such as severe weather were managed pro-actively. The services contingency planning helped ensure minimal disruption to the care that people received in these circumstances and staff showed dedication and commitment to ensure that people’s needs were met.
Peoples were supported to maintain their health and wellbeing. They received appropriate support around their nutrition, hydration and medicines. People were supported to health appointments when required.
Incidents were analysed to identify trends and triggers. This led to people’s needs being reviewed, additional support being provided to staff and improvements being made. Quality Assurance systems were used to assess the quality of the service being provided and to identify areas for improvement.
People told us that they were happy with the service provided by the agency. People we spoke with said the service met their care needs. One person told us: 'I've always been satisfied with them and the care they provide' Another said: 'They take into account my wishes'.
Appropriate arrangements were in place in relation to the recording of medicine. We looked at samples of the medicine administration records (MAR), which kept a record of medicines that staff had supported people to take. The MAR had been completed in line with the procedures. Care plans contained information about the levels of support individuals received in relation to taking prescribed medicines.
Appropriate checks were undertaken before care workers began work. We looked at four care worker files and saw that the necessary checks had been made before people started to provide care in people's homes. We saw that Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks had been completed. There was a minimum of two references for each employee, together with proof of identity. The registered manager confirmed the references by direct contact (telephone call) with the referee.
People who used the service, their representatives and care workers were asked for their views about their care, treatment and the service. The registered manager told us they sent questionnaires annually to people who used the service. We looked at the results from the last questionnaire which was conducted in April 2013 and found that the responses were very positive about the service.
The service responded to people's changing needs and wishes. We were told the service was "extremely responsive and will change care times and packages to meet individual needs and requests'. People told us the agency arranged staffing so that they received care and support from a small team of care staff. They were always informed in advance which of these care staff were attending to them the following week. Staff were generally punctual with visits and notified them if there as any delay to their visits. They said that staff were competent and knew what they were doing. One person we spoke with said 'staff were helpful and friendly and respected their privacy,
People said that the agency checked that they were satisfied with the service they received by regular phone calls or visits.