JK Caring Carers Ltd

JK Caring Carers Ltd provides support to people living in their own house, flat or other specialist housing accommodation. At the time of our inspection there were 61 people using the service via the domiciliary care agency.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

Risks for people were not identified, recorded and mitigated in relation to their care and support needs. Not all staff who administered people’s medication had achieved up to date medication training and care plans did not clearly and accurately document the level of medicine support required. People were placed at risk of harm as staff recruitment checks continued not to be safe. People’s call times were inconsistent, and this placed them at risk of not receiving their care and support as they should.

Staff did not have up to date training. Although staff told us they felt supported, not all staff had received formal supervision. JK Caring Carers Ltd was not well-led. Quality assurance and governance arrangements were not effective. Lessons were not learned to make required improvements.

People told us they felt safe and had no concerns about their safety or wellbeing when staff visited them. Staff had access to Personal Protective Equipment [PPE]. Staff had completed an ‘in-house’ induction. People had access to healthcare professionals as required. People’s capacity to make decisions had been assessed and staff sought people’s consent prior to providing support.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement [published 19 April 2022]. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the provider’s recruitment practices. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of Safe, Effective and Well-Led only.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to inadequate based on the findings of this inspection.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified continued breaches in relation to risk management, staffing [including training], recruitment practices and quality assurance and governance arrangements at this inspection.

Follow up

The overall rating for this service is ‘Inadequate’ and the service is therefore in ‘special measures'. This means we will keep the service under review and, if we do not propose to cancel the provider’s registration, we will re-inspect within 6 months to check for significant improvements.

If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe and there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall rating, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures. This will mean we will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will usually lead to cancellation of their registration or to varying the conditions the registration.

For adult social care services, the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it and it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions, it will no longer be in special measures.

JK Caring Carers Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection, 65 people were using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

The provider’s governance arrangements did not provide assurance the service was well led, and regulatory requirements were being met. Quality assurance systems were not robust and had not identified the shortfalls we found during our inspection. Required recruitment checks on staff were not safe to ensure staff were suitable. Improvements were required to some aspects of medicines management. Staff received required training but had not completed an assessment to demonstrate their knowledge and competence at the end of each training session or received specialist training in other areas. Robust induction arrangements for staff were not in place and not all staff had received regular supervision or spot check visits.

Care plans were in place to reflect how people’s care and support needs were to be met. Information about how to make a complaint was available and people and their relatives told us they were confident to raise issues or concerns. However, evidence of investigations and action taken were not robust and required improvement.

Calls were monitored to ensure people using the service received support in line with their care needs. However, there was negative feedback about staff’s punctuality and timekeeping. People were protected by the provider’s prevention and control of infection practices and arrangements. People said they felt safe and had no concerns about their safety or wellbeing.

People were positive about the care and support provided. People’s dignity and privacy was respected, and their independence promoted. People and their relatives were given the opportunity to provide feedback about the service through the completion of a satisfaction questionnaire. 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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This was the service's first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and Local Authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.