MK Executive Care

Updated 8 September 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by 1 inspector and 3 Experts 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.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post. The registered manager was also the nominated individual for the service. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to ensure the registered manager would be available and arrange for people using the service to be contacted by the Experts by Experience to seek feedback on their experiences of using the service.

The inspection activity started on 24 July 2023 and ended on 16 August 2023. We visited the office location on 16 August 2023.

What we did before the 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 (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with 8 people using the service and 5 relatives to hear about their experience of the care and support received from the service.

We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager and the company director. We sent feedback requests to 8 care staff and received 2 responses. We reviewed a range of records, including 4 people's care records, medicines records, and a variety of records relating to staffing and the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Updated 8 September 2023

MK Executive Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of inspection 54 people were using the service.

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.

MK Executive Care is registered to provide personal care to people living in supported living settings, to enable people to live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living. At the time of this inspection MK Executive Care were not providing personal care to any people living in supported living settings.

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

People told us they felt safe with the staff providing their care. Individual risks to people’s safety were assessed and risk assessments were in place for staff to follow.

People’s dependency levels were assessed and enough staff were deployed to meet people's needs. Recruitment systems ensured only suitable staff were employed to work at the service.

People were supported safely with their medicines. Staff received training in the safe administration of medicines and their competency to safely administer medicines was assessed. Staff received training on infection control and followed the procedures to prevent the spread of infections.

People told us they received support from staff they knew and trusted. We received comments such as, "The staff were nice and kind to me," and, "It is a caring service, I’m happy with the staff who come to me; I’m pleased I have them."

People received support to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet.

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 / or relatives were involved in putting together their care plans. Information was available on people's likes and dislikes, hobbies and interests. This meant staff could engage with people discussing topics that were of interest to them. Records showed care plans were reviewed regularly and updated as people's needs changed.

People's communication needs were identified and described in individual communication support plans.

A complaints policy was available, and records showed complaints were responded to appropriately.

An electronic care monitoring system was embedded into practice and was used to enable the registered manager and the management team to have full oversight over all aspects of the service. The system tracked care calls and created alerts when calls took place outside of the scheduled hours. Routine audits and checks were completed to monitor the quality of the service, such as care plan and medicine record audits, and care visit monitoring.

Feedback was sought from people using the service to identify areas for further improvement. People and relatives spoke positively about the care and support they received from the service.

Notifications were submitted to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as required by law, without delay, and contained the necessary details. The ratings from the previous inspection were displayed on the provider website and within the office.

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

Why we inspected

This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on the previous rating.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 08 February 2022).

At the last comprehensive Inspection (published on 29 October 2021) the provider was in breach of regulations 9 and 16 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. 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 the regulations.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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.