Archived: Kare Plus Durham

Updated 20 August 2016

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 was 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 took place on 26 May and 7 June 2016 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice as it is a domiciliary service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in at the office. The visit was undertaken by an adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection, the provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the PIR and other information we held about the service prior to our inspection. This included the notifications we had received from the provider. Notifications are changes, events or incidents the provider is legally obliged to send us within required timescales. We contacted local commissioners of the service for feedback.

During the visit we spoke with five staff including the registered manager either at the visit or after on the phone. We also spoke with two people who used the service on the phone.

Three care records were reviewed as was the staff training programme. We reviewed complaints records, three staff recruitment files, three induction/supervision and training files, and staff meeting minutes. The manager’s quality assurance process was discussed with them.

Updated 20 August 2016

This was an announced inspection which took place over two days on the 26 May and 7 June 2016. This was the service’s first inspection since it was registered in May 2015.

Kare Plus Durham is a domiciliary care service that is registered for the regulated activity of personal care. The service provides care and support to people in their own homes in the north Durham and Gateshead areas. The care offered varied from short visits to 24 hour care. A number of people were receiving care at the end of their lives. There were ten people using the service at the time of the inspection.

The service had a registered manager who had been in post since December 2015. 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.

We found that people’s care was delivered safely and in a way of their choosing. They were supported in a manner that reflected their wishes and assisted them to remain as independent as possible. Where people’s needs could not be met safely or effectively by the service this work was declined.

People’s medicines were managed well. Staff watched for potential side effects and sought medical advice as needed when people’s conditions changed. People and their family carers were supported to manage their own medicines if they wished.

Staff felt they were well trained and encouraged to look for ways to further improve their skills. Staff told us they felt valued and this was reflected in the way they talked about the service, the new manager and the people they supported.

People who used the service were matched up with suitable staff to support their needs, and if people requested changes these were facilitated quickly. People were complimentary about the service. They were included and involved in their care by the staff and manager and felt the service provided met their needs.

There were high levels of contact between the staff, the manager and people, seeking feedback and offering support as people’s needs changed quickly. People felt able to raise any questions or concerns and felt these would be acted upon.

When people’s needs changed staff took action, seeking external professional help and incorporating any changes into care plans and their working practices. Staff worked to support people’s long term relationships and kept them involved in activities that mattered to them. People thought that staff were open and transparent with them about issues and sought their advice and input regularly.

The registered manager was seen as a good and compassionate leader, by both staff and people using the service. They were trusted and had created a strong sense of commitment to meeting people’s diverse needs and supporting staff.