Age UK Kent Rivers

Updated 14 August 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.

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 had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because some of the people using it could not consent to a home visit from an inspector. This meant that we had to arrange for a ‘best interests’ decision about this.

Inspection activity started on 9 July 2019 and ended on 11 July 2019. We visited the office location on 9 July 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last new registration. 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 visited two people and a relative of someone who used the service in their own homes. We also spoke to one person by phone. We spoke to the registered manager, service manager and two team leaders. We spoke to four carers by phone.

We reviewed six people’s care plans and associated documents. We looked at three staff files and a variety of records relating to the management of the service including audits.

Updated 14 August 2019

About the service

Age UK, Faversham and Sittingbourne is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to adults living in their own houses and flats in the community. At the time of the inspection the agency was supporting 73 people with personal care. All of the people supported by the service were over 50 and had a range of needs including living with dementia, mental health needs and physical disabilities. 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 did not always support this practice. People’s care plans did not record when people’s capacity had been assessed or why relatives where giving consent for care. The registered manager did make changes to documents after our inspection to address this. People’s care plans did not always detail how to reassure people who could become anxious. People needs were assessed and support took into account their preferences and needs. People were supported to stay healthy and have access to health professionals when required. When people were supported to eat and drink, staff supported them to have food they liked.

People and their loved ones told us they were supported by kind and compassionate staff. People had consistent staff who knew them well and used their knowledge of people to tailor their support. People were encouraged to be part of planning their care. Staff treated people with dignity and respect, recognising when people were uncomfortable with requiring support.

People received person-centred care which was designed around their needs and preferences. People were supported to access community events and local day services to prevent them become isolated. Complaints were dealt with in line with the providers policy and documents were available in large print when required. Staff worked closely with the local hospice to enable people to stay at home until the end of their lives.

People were supported by staff who understood their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding people from abuse. Risks to people were assessed and guidance was in place for staff to reduce risks. People’s medicines were managed safely and an online care planning system gave good over sight of medicines administration. Staff understood the need for infection control and used equipment such as gloves when required. Accidents and incidents were reviewed for learning.

People, their loved ones and staff told us the management team were supportive and approachable. The registered manager was aware of their regulatory responsibilities and had informed other agencies of events as required. People, loved ones and staff had been asked their views on the service and action was taken to address any shortfalls. The provider had a culture of continued learning and improvement, they offered forums and conferences to support this. Staff worked closely with other agencies to meet people’s needs and enable them to stay in their homes.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 10/10/2018 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for this service was Good (published 03 March 2016). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

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.