Archived: Kare Plus Bromley

Updated 29 August 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

Inspection team: Two inspectors carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 72 hours’ notice of the inspection visit to ensure the registered manager would be present and ensure people’s consent was gained for us to speak with them for their feedback. Inspection activity started on 7 August 2019 and ended on 8 August 2019. We visited the office location on 8 August 2019.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the provider. We sought feedback from professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We looked at five people’s care records, two staff recruitment records, records relating to the management of the service such as medicines, quality assurance checks and policies and procedures. We spoke with a staff member, a director/coordinator, the registered manager and the nominated individual about how the service ran and what it was like to work there. We spoke with three people using the service and two relatives.

Updated 29 August 2019

About the service

Kare Plus Bromley is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection the agency was providing personal care to seven people.

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

We found a breach of our regulations because the provider’s systems for managing people's medicines were not always safe. Peoples end of life care and support needs and wishes were not assessed or documented as part of their plan or care. The registered manager was not aware of the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) in relation to making sure people were provided with information in formats they could understand [when required]. The provider's quality assurance and monitoring systems had failed to identify the concerns we found at this inspection.

We have also recommended the provider follows nationally recognised guidance to make sure people are given information in formats they can understand.

The service had safeguarding policies and procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these procedures. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there were enough staff available to meet people’s care and support needs. Risks to people had been assessed to ensure their needs were safely met. The service had procedures in place to reduce the risk of infections.

People’s care and support needs were assessed before they started to use the service. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to support people appropriately. Staff were supported through induction, training and regular supervision. People were supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet and had access to health care professionals when they needed them. 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 and their relatives (where appropriate) had been consulted about their care and support needs. The service had a complaints procedure in place. The registered manager knew how to access support for people at the end of their lives if it was required.

The registered manager had worked in partnership with health and social care providers to plan and deliver an effective service. The provider took people and their relatives views into account through telephone monitoring calls and quality service reviews. Staff enjoyed working at the service and said they received good support from the registered manager.

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 19/09/2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

Enforcement

We have identified a breach of regulations in relation to the management of medicines at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.