Cera- Kent

Updated 24 November 2020

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 team consisted of one lead inspector, one inspector off site who reviewed documentation and one assistant inspector who made telephone calls to people.

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 service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. We checked and assurances were made that the manager had put in her application to register.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 5 days' notice of the inspection site visit because consent needed to be sought for telephone calls and home visits.

We started the inspection on the 2 November when we made calls to people who use the service. We visited the registered office on the 3 November 2020 to see the manager and review care and staff records. Other records were reviewed off- site. The inspection finished on the 5 November after documentation had finished being reviewed along with telephone discussions with staff.

What we did before the inspection

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 looked at five care plans, three staff recruitment files and spoke with the manager on site. Offsite we reviewed records such as- accident, incidents and complaints, audits and quality assurance records, staff training and rotas including missed and late calls information. We spoke to six people who use the service and twelve relatives.

After the inspection

We spoke with five members of care staff after the inspection and continued to review any documentation gathered during the inspection.

Updated 24 November 2020

About the service

Cera Care- Kent is a registered domiciliary care agency, providing personal care to people in their own homes in the community. They provide services to any people who need care and support. The agency provides care services to people living in Kent. There were 67 people using the service on the day we inspected. 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

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.

People and their relatives told us they felt safe using the service and care staff knew how to report concerns. Risks to people and staff were well managed through risk assessments, which were regularly reviewed. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs, people told us they had continuity with their carers and they always stayed for the duration of the call. People received their medicines safely from staff that were trained and regularly competency assessed. Staff were following guidance around the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the current pandemic. The management team were spot checking this and people told us staff were wearing PPE at all times.

People received personalised care responsive to their needs. Care plans were regularly reviewed and updated to ensure they were reflective and up to date. People told us they were involved with planning their care and participated in reviews. Staff knew people well and were able to tell us about people’s likes and dislikes. No one was receiving care at the end of their life but the manager told us about new care plans they are putting together in case they needed them in the future.

People, relatives and staff were positive about the management of the service. Feedback we received told us that the management team had an open door and they knew where to go if they had concerns. The manager knew their roles and responsibilities and had recently applied to be registered with the Care Quality Commission. Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor and improve the service people received. Regular communication was continued with people through letters and regular phone calls. The manager had made changes to improve how the service was being run and it had made a positive impact to staff and people.

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 10 June 2019) and their was a breach of regulation. 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion 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 Cera- Kent 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.