K.C. Carers Limited

K.C. Carers Limited is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. The Care Quality Commission (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. At the time of the inspection 38 people were receiving personal care from the service.

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

People were cared for safely. Safe recruitment practices were in place and people were assured they had regular staff they trusted who supported them. We received several positive comments such as ‘I feel very lucky and blessed to have such a good team of carers, nothing is too much of a problem for them.’ ‘They are a reliable and caring company who have taken a huge weight off my shoulders with the care they provide.’

Staff knew how to keep people safe from abuse or harm. Risks to people’s health had been assessed and plans were in place to reduce any risks identified. People received their medicines safely and there were effective practices to protect people from risk of infection.

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.

The registered manager was committed to providing a service that promoted person centred care. People's and staff views were sought to help drive service improvement. The registered manager and staff team worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to ensure people received care which followed a consistent approach.

Systems and processes were in place to continually monitor quality, safety and oversight of the service. The registered manager understood their legal responsibilities and continually worked towards driving improvement at the service.

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 good (published 2 July 2021).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the management of safeguarding concerns. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe 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 remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for K.C.Carers Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

K.C. Carers Limited is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection they were supporting 40 people.

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

People were protected from the risk of abuse. Staff were kind caring and respectful of people’s privacy and dignity.

People’s risks were assessed regularly or as their needs changed. Staff understood how to mitigate people’s known risks as care plans provided staff with guidance on how to provide safe care. People received their medicines safely.

There were enough skilled staff to meet people’s needs. Staff were recruited using safe recruitment practices. Staff received training and supervision to carry out their roles.

The registered manager had implemented systems to assess, monitor and improve the safety and quality of the service. Lessons had been learned when things had gone wrong. They sought feedback from people using the service and used the information to improve the service.

People were protected from infection through infection control procedures. Staff had adequate supplies of personal protective equipment [PPE] and knew what PPE to use in specific circumstances. Staff were involved in regular testing for COVID-19.

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 and update:

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 07 February 2020) and there was a breach of three regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection the provider had made improvements and were no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about leadership, management and oversight of the service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, caring and well-led to examine those risks.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for K.C.Carers Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

K.C. Carers is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to people in their own homes. The service was supporting 53 people at the time of inspection.

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 registered manager had a lack of oversight of the service. This meant that they had not identified concerns or issues, and therefore had not acted to make improvements. Systems and processes put in place to improve the service were not yet established or embedded.

The registered manager had failed to promote a positive staff culture. Staff had not acted in accordance with their safeguarding responsibilities.

People’s medicines were managed in a safe way in their homes. However, medicines were stored unnecessarily and insecurely in the provider’s office building.

Systems and records relating to complaints and concerns were disorganised. Policies and procedures were not kept up to date to ensure they were in line with current best practice.

Safe recruitment practices were not always followed. There were enough staff to meet people's needs and people received their care at the agreed times. People received care from staff they knew. Staff gained people's consent before providing personal care.

People and relatives spoke positively about staff and management. They felt safe. People were protected from risks such as falls and environmental hazards by detailed, regularly updated risk assessments.

People had person-centred care plans which detailed their strengths and where they required support. Their communication needs were assessed and recorded.

People and their relatives were involved in the planning and delivery of their care, and the registered manager sought feedback.

People were supported to access the community. Staff sought support from health and social care professionals as required.

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

The last rating for this service was Good (published 24 October 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about safeguarding and staff culture. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the Safe, Caring and Well-Led sections of this full report.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to dignity and respect, safeguarding and good governance 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 work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

At the last inspection in August 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People continued to receive care and support from K.C. Carers in a way that maintained their safety. Risks to people had been assessed and steps taken to mitigate people’s assessed risks. People could be assured that sufficient numbers of staff were available to provide their care and that they would receive their prescribed medicines safely.

The staff providing people’s care had received the support, supervision and on-going training that they needed to provide people’s care effectively. People were supported to maintain adequate nutrition and staff promptly referred people to medical professionals when required.

People continued to be consistently treated with dignity and respect and staff worked in a way that maintained people’s privacy. Staff were committed to providing care according to people’s individual preferences.

There was a strong system of quality assurance overseen by a visible and supportive management team. The management team was committed to the on-going development of the service and responded positively to suggestions and comments from people, commissioners and staff. The management team encouraged an open culture that promoted person centred care for the people that K.C Carers supported.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.