Kay Healthcare Limited

Updated 16 September 2021

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

This 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 homes.

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. The registered manager was also the nominated individual and the proprietor of the service. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 19 August 2021 and ended on 2 September 2021. We visited the office location on 19 August 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed other information we had received about the service, including notifications received from the provider. The law requires providers to send us notifications about certain events that happen during the running of a service. We sought feedback from the local authority, community professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We reviewed the provider’s website. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, operations manager and six staff. Operations managers usually have oversight of several services. However, the operations manager at Kay Healthcare Limited fulfilled a role more akin to that of a deputy manager.

We reviewed a range of records, including two people’s care records, medication records and daily notes. We looked at eight staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed, including the provider’s policies, procedures and quality assurance audits. We also reviewed archived records in relation to two people's end of life care.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with two community professionals who worked in partnership with the service, supporting people living in their own homes.

Updated 16 September 2021

About the service

Kay Healthcare Limited is a domiciliary care service, providing personal care to people living in West Berkshire, Bracknell Forest and adjacent areas.

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. On the day of the site visit, two people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

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

People experienced safe care and were protected from avoidable harm by trusted staff who had been safely recruited. Staff had completed safeguarding training and knew how to recognise and report abuse. Risks to people were effectively identified, assessed and managed safely. There were enough staff deployed, with the right mix of skills to deliver care and support to meet people’s needs. People received their medicines safely from staff, in accordance with recognised guidance. Staff delivered care in accordance with their training to protect people from the spread of infections.

Staff assessed all aspects of people’s physical, emotional and social needs and ensured these were met to achieve good outcomes for them. Staff were effectively supported to develop and maintain the required skills and knowledge to support people. Staff emphasised the importance of eating and drinking well and reflected best practice in how they supported people to maintain a healthy balanced diet. Staff worked effectively with healthcare professionals to make sure care and treatment met people’s changing needs.

Staff developed caring relationships with people, whom they treated with kindness and compassion in their day-to-day care. People were supported to make decisions about their care and these choices were respected by staff.

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 interest; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People's privacy, dignity and independence were respected and promoted.

People experienced person-centred care, which reflected their needs and achieved good outcomes. People received information in a way they could understand and process, allowing for any impairment. People knew how to make complaints and were confident the management team would listen and address their concerns. The service worked closely with healthcare professionals and sensitively explored and respected people’s end of life care wishes.

The management team led by example and promoted a strong caring, person-centred culture where people and staff felt valued. The registered manager understood their responsibilities to inform people when things went wrong and the importance of conducting thorough investigations to identify lessons learnt to prevent reoccurrences. There were robust measures to monitor quality, safety and the experience of people within the service. Quality assurance was embedded within the culture and running of the service, to drive continuous improvement.

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 12 March 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration and when the service had begun to provide care to people.

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.