We carried out a review of the data available to us about Abantu Care Services 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 Abantu Care Services, you can give feedback on this service.
Abantu Care Services is a domiciliary care agency located within the Borough of Bexley. It provides personal care and support to people living within their own homes. Not everyone using Abantu Care Services may receive a regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with personal care; that 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 our inspection the service was providing support to 30 people.
People’s experience of using this service
People and their relatives spoke positively about the registered manager, staff and the service they received. Up to date safeguarding and whistle blowing policies and procedures were in place and staff had a clear understanding of them. Recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs appropriately. Risks to people were assessed and documented to ensure their needs were safely met. Systems were in place that ensured medicines were managed and administered safely. Procedures were in place to reduce the risk of infections.
Robust assessments of people’s needs and wishes were completed before they started using the service. People received support to maintain good health and access services where required. People were supported to maintain a healthy diet where this was part of their plan of care. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported by staff who were kind and respectful. Staff understood people's diverse needs and supported them appropriately. People's communication needs were assessed and met. People knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy with the service.
There were systems in place that enabled good oversight of the management of the service and to monitor the quality of care that people received. The service worked in partnership with health and social care professionals. The provider took people’s views into account and used their feedback to help drive service improvements.
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 requires improvement (published 20 June 2019) and there were breaches of our regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do to improve and by when. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned follow up inspection to assess if the provider was complying with our regulations.
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.
People’s experience of using this service:
•Care plans and risk assessments were not updated as required.
•Risks were not always identified in relation to falls and risk management plans were not in place to manage these risks.
•Risk assessments were not reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they met people’s current needs.
•People were not involved in planning their care and support.
•People's medicines were not always safely managed.
•The providers quality monitoring systems were not effective.
•People told us they felt safe. There were appropriate adult safeguarding procedures in place to protect people from the risk of abuse.
•Accidents and incidents were appropriately managed and learning from this was disseminated to staff.
•People were protected from the risk of infection because staff followed appropriate infection control
protocols.
•There were enough staff available to support people.
•Assessments were carried out prior to people joining the service to ensure their needs could be met.
•Staff were supported through induction, training and supervision to ensure they carried out their roles effectively.
•People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
•People were supported and encouraged to eat a healthy and well-balanced diet.
•People had access to healthcare professionals when required to maintain good health.
•People told us staff were kind and respected their privacy, dignity and promoted their independence.
•People were involved in making decisions about their daily care needs. For example, what to wear and what to eat.
•Staff understood the Equality Act and supported people's individual diverse needs if required.
•People were provided with information about the service when they joined in the form of a 'service user guide' so they were aware of the services and facilities on offer.
•People were aware of the provider’s complaints procedures and knew how to raise a complaint.
•The service was not currently supporting people who were considered end of life but the provider was aware of best practice in this area.
•Regular feedback was sought from people and staff about the service and acted upon if necessary.
•The provider worked in partnership with key organisations to ensure people's needs were planned and met and to deliver an effective service.
•People and staff were complimentary about the registered manager
Rating at last inspection: Requires Improvement (report published 14 March 2018).
Why we inspected: This inspection was part of a scheduled plan based on our last rating of the service and aimed to follow up on some concerns we had found at our inspection in January 2018.
Enforcement: We found breaches of regulations in relation to person centred care, safe care and treatment and good governance. You can see what action we asked the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report. Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found in inspections and appeals is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
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.
Abantu Care Services is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to older people. At the time of our inspection 17 people were receiving personal care and support from this service.
At this inspection we found a breach of regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in relation to safe care and treatment, person centred care and good governance. This was because the service did not have risk assessments and support plans in place for four people using the service.
Appropriate safeguarding procedures were in place and staff knew how to safeguard people they supported and were aware of how to raise any concerns. Medicine records were completed and showed that people received their medicines as prescribed. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work. There were enough staff to meet people's care and support needs.
Staff completed an induction when they started work and had completed appropriate training. Staff received regular supervisions and appraisals. The registered manager and staff understood the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People were asked for their consent before staff provided care. People were supported to have a balanced diet. People had access to a range of healthcare professionals when required.
People said they felt cared for and people’s privacy and dignity was respected. Staff encouraged people to be independent whenever possible. People were provided with information about the service in the form of a service user guide.
People’s needs were assessed prior to them joining the service to ensure the service provided was person-centred and could meet their needs. Support plans were in place for most people and provided clear guidance for staff on how to support people in line with their individual needs. People were aware of the complaints procedure and knew how to make a complaint.
The service had 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 service had processes in place to monitor the quality of the service. However, it had failed to recognise that four people did not have support plans and risk assessments in place to ensure their needs were appropriately met. The provider carried out regular staff spot and competency checks to make sure people were being supported in line with their care plans. There was an out of hours on call system in place to support staff when they needed it. Feedback was sought from people about the service, through telephone surveys. Staff were complimentary about the service and said that they enjoyed working for the service.