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Archived: Age UK North West Kent

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

The Fleming Resource Centre, Clarence Row, Gravesend, Kent, DA12 1HJ (01474) 564898

Provided and run by:
Age UK Medway

All Inspections

15 May 2019

During a routine inspection

About the service:

Age UK North West Kent is a domiciliary care service for people who receive personal care in their own home. At the time of our inspection there were 65 people who received personal care from the service. The service had recently introduced a ‘bathing plus’ service which included supporting people to have baths, preparing drinks and light snacks and catheter care. The service also provides a nail clipping service for people.

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

People's experience of using this service:

People said they felt safe with the staff when they received care in their own homes. They said that they were treated kindly and compassionately by the staff. People consented to their care and were supported by staff who were trained to fulfil their roles effectively.

People's needs were assessed and reviewed to ensure care being delivered was up to date and reflective of their needs.

People were supported to express their views and make decisions about their care. People had care plans that provided guidance for staff to provide care that was responsive to people's needs. Care plans were specific and personalised. People were supported to do things they wanted to do.

People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse and received person-centred care that promoted their dignity and independence. If any risks were identified, then steps had been taken to keep these to a minimum. When there were any incidents and accidents these were recorded, and steps were taken to prevent any re-occurrence. Staff understood how to prevent infection and wore protective equipment when necessary.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to provide the care people needed and all staff had been recruited safely. People said that staff arrived when they should and stayed the allotted amount of time. People reported that they had not had any missed calls. Staff received the training they needed to look after people in the way that suited them best. Staff received support, guidance and advice from the management team.

Staff communicated effectively with people and with each other to make sure people's needs were met in the way they had chosen. When people were unwell or needed extra support, they were referred to health care professionals and other external agencies.

Staff did not administer prescribed medicines regularly. Occasionally they supported people to apply prescribed creams to their skin. This was done with consent from people and their GP and was recorded.

People told us the service was well managed. Any complaints that were made were managed in the right way and people had been invited to suggest improvements to the service.

People and their relatives gave positive feedback about the service they received. They said the registered manager was approachable and sorted out any issues they had. Staff and people thought highly of the registered manager. Staff knew their roles and were able to tell us about the values and the vision of the service. There were adequate quality assurance measures in place. The service was well linked locally.

People, relatives and staff were encouraged to engage and improve the service. One person said, “You could not get better staff. The girls (staff) are lovely. They never let me down.”

Rating at last inspection:

Good – published on 3 October 2016.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remained ‘Good’ overall.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

16 August 2016

During a routine inspection

We carried out an inspection of Age UK North West Kent on 16 August 2016. This was an announced inspection where we gave the service 48 hours’ notice because we needed to ensure someone would be available to speak with us.

Age UK North West Kent is a domiciliary care service for people that receive extra care in their own home. At the time of our inspection there were 63 people who received personal care from the agency.

The service had 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 were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. People and relatives told us they were happy with the support people received from the service. Staff member knew how to report alleged abuse and were able to describe the different types of abuse. Staff knew how to ‘whistle blow’. Whistleblowing is when someone who works for an employer raises a concern about a potential risk of harm to people who use the service.

People and relatives told us they had no concerns with staffing levels and there had been no missed visits. Systems were in place to monitor staff punctuality and attendance.

Risk assessments were recorded and plans were in place to minimise risks. Risk of falls had been identified but assessments had not been carried out to mitigate the risk of falls when staff provided personal care to people. Staff were aware on how to support people that may be at risk of falls. We have made a recommendation that assessments are carried out to minimise the risk of falls when staff provide personal care to people.

People were supported by suitably qualified and experienced staff. Recruitment and selection procedures were in place and being followed. Checks had been undertaken to ensure staff were suitable for the role. Staff members were suitably trained to carry out their duties and knew their responsibilities to keep people safe and meet people’s needs.

Staff received appraisals. One to one supervisions with staff had not been carried out regularly. Regular spot checks had not been carried out to identify areas of best practise and improvement. Staff told us they were supported by management.

People were supported to plan their support and they received a service that was based on their personal needs and wishes. People were involved in the planning of their care and the care plan was then signed by people to ensure they were happy with the care listed on the care plan. Care plans were regularly reviewed.

Quality questionnaires were completed by people about the service, which we saw were positive.

MCA training had not been provided to all staff. Not all staff we spoke with were able to tell us the principles of the MCA. However, staff told us they always sought consent when providing support and people confirmed this.

There was a formal complaints procedure. People were aware of how to make complaints and staff knew how to respond to complaints in accordance with the service’s complaint policy.