25 November 2014
During a routine inspection
This inspection took place on 25 November 2014 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because the service is a small domiciliary agency and we needed to be sure that someone would be available. This was the first inspection to the service since it was registered with the Care Quality Commission.
Key Ring London and South East Office provides a domiciliary care service to people in their own homes. It is part of a wider organisation that provides a service to maintain support to people who needed low level support to maintain their tenancies. The agency was providing a registered service that supported two people with personal care at the time of our inspection.
There was 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.
Risks to individuals were carefully assessed and managed. Staff had in-depth knowledge of these risks and how best to manage these so that people were kept safe. Staff were proactive and used creative ways to find solutions to the risks identified to people in challenging situations. Good care planning and delivery of care significantly reduced risks to people, ensuring their needs were met.
There were enough staff to meet people’s needs during our inspection. Medicines were managed appropriately to ensure people received their medicines safely.
The service was committed to the training and developing of their staff to ensure they put their learning into practice to deliver high quality care that met individual needs.
The provider had used their procedures appropriately in relation to the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to protect the safety and wellbeing of people.
There was a strong emphasis on the importance of people eating and drinking well.
People received on-going healthcare support and the agency worked well in partnership with other professionals to effectively support the people who used the service. We received positive feedback from professionals who had contact with the service.
Staff provided a service in a way that was kind, caring and supportive and with an ethos of respecting the individuality, dignity and privacy of people.
Staff communicated with people in a way they could understand and maximised their ability to make decisions and to have choice in their lives. People and their relatives were consulted and involved in decisions about all aspects of their care.
People experienced personalised care that was effective in meeting their needs and individual aspirations.
Care plans and risk assessments were detailed, informative about the lives, needs and ways to support people who used the service and care was highly person centred.
People using the service were actively supported to remain independent. The support they received enabled them to pursue their preferred interests and activities and to integrate into the community.
There were no complaints, however a complaints procedure was in place and staff worked with people and relatives to promptly respond to and address any issues.
Staff told us that they really enjoyed working at the service and that there was very good management in place. They told us the management valued and improved the outcomes to people who used the service.
The service was well led and there were systems in place to effectively monitor the quality of the service. Shortfalls had been addressed where these had been identified and the registered manager was in the process of taking steps to further improve the service.