K.C. Carers Limited

Updated 25 May 2023

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

The inspection was undertaken by 1 inspector 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

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

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 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 3 May 2023 and ended on 9 May 2023. We visited the location’s office on 3 May.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 7 people who used the service and 6 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 8 members of staff including, the registered manager, care manager, care co-ordinator, administrator and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people’s care records and medication records. We looked at 3 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.

Updated 25 May 2023

About the service

K.C. Carers Limited is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. The Care Quality Commission (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 the inspection 38 people were receiving personal care from the service.

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

People were cared for safely. Safe recruitment practices were in place and people were assured they had regular staff they trusted who supported them. We received several positive comments such as ‘I feel very lucky and blessed to have such a good team of carers, nothing is too much of a problem for them.’ ‘They are a reliable and caring company who have taken a huge weight off my shoulders with the care they provide.’

Staff knew how to keep people safe from abuse or harm. Risks to people’s health had been assessed and plans were in place to reduce any risks identified. People received their medicines safely and there were effective practices to protect people from risk of infection.

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.

The registered manager was committed to providing a service that promoted person centred care. People's and staff views were sought to help drive service improvement. The registered manager and staff team worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to ensure people received care which followed a consistent approach.

Systems and processes were in place to continually monitor quality, safety and oversight of the service. The registered manager understood their legal responsibilities and continually worked towards driving improvement at 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

The last rating for this service was good (published 2 July 2021).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the management of safeguarding concerns. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for K.C.Carers Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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