Archived: Kolours Healthcare

Kolours Healthcare is a domiciliary care service which offers personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting 69 people.

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

We received positive feedback from people and their relatives about the quality of care people received.

People told us they felt safe being supported by Kolours Healthcare. Staff were recruited safely. People were safeguarded against the risk of abuse and were supported by a consistent team of staff who understood their needs well. Risks to people’s safety had been identified, assessed and monitored.

Systems were in place for the safe management of medicines. People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. People’s care plans detailed the support people required to manage their medicines. Staff received appropriate training and on-going competency checks to ensure they administered medicines safely. The registered manager carried out regular audits of medicine records.

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.

Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service people received. People and staff were asked for their views to help drive improvements. Staff felt supported by the registered manager and received on-going training, spot checks and supervision. There was an open culture within the service and staff worked together as a team. The registered manager worked in partnership with other health and social care professionals to ensure people’s care and support needs were met.

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 21 November 2017).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part by notification of a specific incident when a person using the service sustained a serious injury. This incident is subject to a criminal investigation. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident.

The information CQC received about the incident indicated concerns about the management of risks associated with people’s care needs. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

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 Kolours Healthcare 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.

Kolours Healthcare is registered to provide a domiciliary care service which offers personal care, to support people living in their own home. There were 23 people currently using the service.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

The service was safe. Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. People were cared for safely by staff who had been recruited and employed after appropriate checks had been completed. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs consistently. People were supported to take their medication by staff who had received training to do so.

The service was effective. People were cared for and supported by staff who had received training to support people to meet their needs. The registered manager had a good understanding of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were supported to eat and drink enough to ensure they maintained a balanced diet and referrals to other health professionals were made when required.

The service was caring. Staff cared for people in an empathetic and kind manner. Staff had a good understanding of people’s preferences of care. Staff always worked hard to promote people’s independence through encouraging and supporting people.

The service was responsive. People and their relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care. Care plans were reviewed on a regular basis and also when there was a change in care needs. People were supported to follow their interests and participate in social activities. The registered manager responded to complaints received in a timely manner.

The service was well-led. The registered manager had systems in place to monitor and provide good care and these were reviewed on a regular basis.

Kolours Healthcare is a care agency that is registered to provide personal care to people within their own homes. The service is based in Southend in Essex and covers the surrounding areas.

The service has a registered manager in post. 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. The registered manager was also the provider and owner of the service. We will refer to them in the report as the registered manager.

The provider did not have an effective quality assurance system to monitor or improve the service provided to people. Although people felt listened to and that their views and opinions had been sought.

The provider did not always follow safe recruitment procedures to help ensure that people received their support from staff of suitable character. Recruitment checks had been carried out before staff started work to ensure that they were suitable to work in a care setting but these had not been completed consistently.

People had assessments completed before they started with the service; a care plan was developed around individual needs and preferences. People had agreed to their care and their views on how this would be provided had been respected. People said they had been treated with dignity and respect and that staff provided their care in a kind and caring manner. People were supported by staff to maintain good healthcare and where needed they would assist them to gain access or contact healthcare providers.

The registered manager promoted a person centred, open and honest culture. Staff were not always happy to work for the service and did not feel supported by the registered manager. There were sufficient staff available, with the right competencies, skills and experience to help meet the needs of the people who used the service.

Staff showed a good knowledge of safeguarding procedures and were clear about the actions they would take to help protect people. Risk assessments had been completed to help staff to support people with everyday risks and help to keep them safe. These had been regularly reviewed to ensure both staff and people who received a service were kept safe. Systems were in place to assist people with the management of their medication and help ensure people received their medication as prescribed and they received the support they needed.

People knew who to raise complaints or concerns to. The service had a clear complaints procedure in place and people had been provided with this information as part of their assessment. We saw that complaints had been appropriately investigated and recorded.