Background to this inspection
Updated
24 February 2018
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 is 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 30 January 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the registered manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in. The inspection was undertaken by one inspector.
Before our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including statutory notifications that had been submitted. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us. A Provider Information Return (PIR) was not requested prior to this inspection. This is information that the provider is required to send to us, which gives us some key information about the service and tells us what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make.
Inspection activity started on 30 January 2018 and ended on 06 February 2018. We visited the office location on 30 January 2018 and spoke with the registered manager and a member of the staff team. We reviewed care records and documents central to people's health and well-being. These included care records relating to two people, recruitment records for two staff members, staff training records and quality audits.
Subsequent to the visit to the office, we received feedback by email from relatives about how people were supported to live their lives. A health and social care professional shared positive feedback with us and we spoke with two staff members by telephone to confirm the training and support they received.
Updated
24 February 2018
The inspection took place on 30 January 2018 and was announced. This was the first comprehensive inspection of this service since the provider initially registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in October 2016. The provider started to provide care and support for people in September 2017.
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. Kare4All is registered to provide a service for people living with dementia, older people, people living with a physical disability and younger adults. At the time of this inspection Kare4All supported three people with personal care.
The provider was also the registered manager for the service. 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 felt safe using the service. Staff understood how to keep people safe and risks to people's safety and well-being were identified and managed. People's needs were met in a timely manner by sufficient numbers of skilled and experienced staff. Recruitment practices required some improvement to help make sure that staff were of good character and suitable for the roles they performed. The management team responded immediately following the inspection with confirmation that they had put more robust procedures in place.
A formal process of staff supervision was in the process of being developed and introduced. Staff had the knowledge and skills necessary to meet people's individual needs and promote their health and wellbeing. The service worked in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were supported to access healthcare professionals promptly when needed.
People’s relatives complimented the staff team for being kind and caring. Staff were knowledgeable about individuals' care and support needs and preferences and people had been involved in the planning of their care where they were able. The service had a strong and person centred culture that was reflected in discussions with the management and staff team.
The provider had arrangements to receive feedback from people who used the service, their relatives, external stakeholders and staff members about the services provided. People’s relatives were confident to raise anything that concerned them with staff or management and were satisfied that they would be listened to.
People's relatives told us they would recommend the service to their friends and staff members told us that they were proud to work for Kare4All. The registered manager demonstrated an in-depth knowledge of the staff they employed and people who used the service. The registered manager actively kept themselves up to date with changes in the care sector and changes in legislation to ensure their continued good practice. There were a range of checks undertaken routinely to help ensure that the service provided was safe and appropriate to meet people’s needs.