We carried out a review of the data available to us about Crossroads Care Kent on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Crossroads Care Kent, you can give feedback on this service.
Crossroads Care Kent is a charity organisation providing home and emergency respite care services for carers in Kent. They support family carers to have a break from caring for their loved ones. When needed, staff provided personal care for people in their own homes. The staff supported younger and older people with a wide range of different needs and conditions. The service also supported people at the end of their lives and in times of crisis. At the time of our inspection there were 32 people receiving personal care.
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:
People and their relatives benefitted from a service which was well-led. The service was run and had developed around the needs of people, their relatives and staff. The registered manager and the management team were continually looking for ways to improve and develop the service. They had formed strong and stable working relationships with other key organisations within the local community and were trusted to assess and meet people's needs, including at short notice. The service had an open, caring, inclusive, person-centred culture where innovation was encouraged and supported. Staff told us they were able to use their knowledge to assist in developing the service as their ideas were welcomed and encouraged.
People received consistent care from longstanding staff many who had worked with them several years. People's care was arranged to provide a support service to enable the main family carer some respite. Staff told us they had time to spend with people and were able to build positive and trusting relationships with people and their carers. The service valued consistency and continuity by making sure the staff were well matched with carers and the people they cared for. People were supported to stay safe in their own homes. Any potential risks to people’s safety had been assessed and steps had been taken to keep any risks to a minimum.
People's needs were assessed before they received supported by the service. Each person had a care plan that reflected their preferences and routines. The arrangements for care and support were tailored to them to include longer duration and shorter frequency of visits by staff. This ensured the service was responding to people's needs in the way they needed.
Care plans held sufficient information to guide staff on how best to meet people's needs and they were regularly reviewed and updated. Staff encouraged and supported people to be as independent as possible. During the visits, staff followed people's usual care routines. They supported people with meaningful activities both within their homes and in the local community. Staff were recruited safely and all the required safety checks had been done. There were systems in place to maintain people's confidentiality.
People and relatives spoke very positively about the staff and the service they received. They told us staff were kind, caring and compassionate.
People were protected from the risk of abuse. Staff had received training and understood how to keep people safe. They told us they felt confident to raise any concerns they had about people's safety. People knew how to complain, and complaints were investigated and responded to appropriately.
People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff who supported people with their medicines had completed the required training and had access to medicines policies and best practice guidelines to support their practice. Staff had received infection control training and followed good practice to minimise the risk of infection being spread.
Staff were skilled and knowledgeable. They had received training that equipped them to fulfil their role and had opportunities to do further training to meet specific needs of people using the service. A relative told us, "The (care support worker) is amazing. They have lots of knowledge about a lot of different things. They seem to able to cope with any situation.”
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.
Generally people’s meals and healthcare needs remained the responsibility of the family carer. However, staff made sure people had enough to eat and drink when they were in their home or out in the community. Staff were aware of people’s health care needs. They knew what to do and who to contact if people became unwell while they were supporting them.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 24 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 reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
There was a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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.
People felt safe and were supported by staff who were trained in how to keep people safe. Risks to people’s health and safety were managed. Plans were in place to identify and reduce the risk to people’s safety. Care plans contained sufficient information to support staff to minimise the risks. There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s care needs and staff were recruited safely. People received the level of support they required to safely manage their medicines.
People were supported by staff who received appropriate induction, training, supervision and a yearly appraisal. Staff were fully supported by management. People’s rights were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People received the assistance they required to have enough to eat and drink. External professionals were involved in people’s care as appropriate.
People were treated with kindness and compassion by the staff. Relatives reported positive and caring relationships were made with them and the people they cared for. Staff were respectful and spoke in a calm way. People and their families felt able to contribute to decisions about the care and relatives were involved in the planning and reviewing of their family members care and how they wanted their care delivered. People were treated with dignity and respect by staff who understood the importance of this. Relatives that we spoke with gave many examples of how staff maintained their relations dignity when providing assistance and respected their privacy.
People received the care they needed. The provider was responsive towards people’s health needs. Care records were written in a person-centred way that focused on people’s wishes and respected their views. Care plans provided information for staff so people could receive personalised care. A complaints process was in place, and people felt able to make a complaint and felt staff would respond in a timely manner. Relatives told us that they felt the service was well-led; they had not had any concerns, but knew how to complain and were confident to raise concerns with the service if needed.
The service promoted a positive culture that was person-centred, inclusive and open. People and their relatives described communication with the service as good. Staff felt supported by the management. All staff felt the registered manager was approachable and listened to their views or concerns. People were encouraged to share their experience about the service and feedback on those experiences. There were a number of quality assurance processes in place that regularly assessed the quality and effectiveness of the support provided.
We found the agency had all the required policies and procedures in place to ensure people's safety and welfare was maintained. All staff were seen to have been through a thorough recruitment process, had references and had either a report from the CRB or Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) in place. All staff had undertaken mandatory training required to carry out their role. The provider was also supporting several staff through apprenticeships in health and social care and leadership and management, and diploma's level three and four. This meant that the needs of the people using the service were met by experienced and well trained staff.
People who use the service and their main carers told us that Crossroads were very approachable and took their input into account when preparing the care plans. One said, 'their service is invaluable to me, it gives me the time I really need'.
All the staff spoken with confirmed they felt very supported. They were confident that care plans in place gave them the information required to carry out their roles well.
All people supported by the agency underwent a thorough assessment of needs. The full time carer or person themselves created their own care plan, covering a detailed approach required. All care plans were monitored monthly by a team leader and adapted to any care changes as soon as required.
The assessment process was robust so that the agency knew about a person's range of needs before they offered a service. Care plans were detailed giving staff the guidance they needed to ensure that they met people's needs. People told us that they had been involved in writing and updating their care plans.
The agency worked closely with health, voluntary sector and social care professionals to ensure that people remained safe and well. Staffing was planned around individual needs and activities. This ensured that people had the support they needed when they needed it. One person said 'They are very good. They come once a week for three hours and that really helps me. I can go out, go shopping, it gives me some 'me time'. They are so helpful, (my relative) really looks forward to the care worker coming.'