Background to this inspection
Updated
18 September 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
The inspection was carried out by one inspector, an assistant inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
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 agency had two managers registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the providers are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the agency 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is an agency and we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 2 August 2019 and ended on 7 August 2019. The Expert by Experience made telephone calls to people in their homes to gain their feedback on 2 August 2019. We visited the office location on 7 August 2019.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service and 10 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the two registered managers, the general manager, assistant manager and three care staff.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and medicines records. We looked at four staff files, which included staff training and supervision files. We also saw a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including a sample of audits, health and safety checks, accidents and policies and procedures.
Updated
18 September 2019
About the service
Absolute Home Care Kent Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. 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. The service was providing personal care to approximately 40 people at the time of the inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and their relatives were positive in their feedback about the agency and said they would recommend them to others. Comments from people included, “They’re always polite and they make time to chat to me. I am not a rushed job and off to the next one” and “They do everything they are supposed to and never leave without checking whether there’s anything else I want.” A relative said, “We went through other care companies and they are not a patch on Absolute Home Care; they are the best, a ‘Godsend.’”
People’s safety was promoted and staff followed detailed guidance to keep people safe and reduce potential risks. Staff worked alongside other health care professionals to keep people safe in their own homes. Appropriate referrals were made when people required additional resources such as equipment to keep them safe.
Staff support was based on people’s needs. People were provided with consistency and continuity of care by the same staff they knew well. Staff had been recruited safely with checks made to ensure staff were suitable to work with people.
Medicines were managed safely and administered by trained staff. Medicine audits highlighted any errors; appropriate action was then taken to reduce a reoccurrence.
People’s needs were comprehensively assessed with them, their relative and a member of the management team, prior to receiving support from the agency. Care plans contained information about people’s specific health support which were followed by staff. People were supported to maintain their nutrition and hydration when needed.
People’s care plans were detailed and personalised, promoting people’s independence and increasing their well-being. People and their relatives were given additional information about additional external health care agencies and referrals were made for additional support when required.
People were supported by staff that were kind, caring and respectful. Staff understood the importance of promoting people’s privacy and dignity when supporting people. Staff knew people well and had developed strong working relationships with people.
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.
Staff had been trained to meet people’s needs and received regular support and supervision. Staff were encouraged to undertake additional courses to widen their knowledge and skills. There were open channels of communication were staff could freely discuss any concerns or make suggestions about the agency.
People were given the opportunity to give feedback and make changes about the service they received. Systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service. The management team were committed to the continuous development and improvement of the service people received.
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 February 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.