CSK Support 24 Ltd Northampton

CSK Support 24 Ltd Northampton is a domiciliary care agency. They provide personal care to people living in their own homes. 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, medicine and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection 45 people were receiving personal care.

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

Not all risks to people had been assessed or detailed strategies implemented. Staff did not consistently record what mitigating tasks had been completed to reduce the risk to the person.

People told us and records evidenced that call were often late or cut short. People were not always informed when call times were changed.

Systems and processes in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality of the service required improvement. Audits completed had not identified some of the concerns found on inspection regarding whether care had always been supplied to meet people’s health needs, records and risk assessments.

People received medicines as prescribed however, staff had not recorded the reason for giving as required medicines in line with the provider’s policy.

Not all complaints had been recorded and acted on. People, staff and relatives told us they knew how to complain.

People were supported by trained staff who knew them well and who had been recruited safely.

People were supported to access healthcare as required. Staff knew how to report a person’s change in needs and how to refer to specialist healthcare.

People were protected from abuse. Staff understood safeguarding procedures and knew the signs of abuse.

People were protected from infections. Staff wore appropriate personal protective equipment [PPE] and received regular testing for COVID 19.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 24 October 2020).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to missed care calls, medicine errors and staff’s knowledge of people. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

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

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for CSK Support 24 Ltd Northampton on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service.

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

CSK Support 24 Ltd Northampton is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to 30 people at the time of the inspection.

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

Some improvements were required to staff rotas to ensure planned activities aligned with what was happening in practice. The provider had implemented an electronic monitoring system to help with planning and implementing rotas.

There was enough staffing to meet people’s needs. People told us the staff who provided their care were consistent and knew them well.

People told us they felt safe and confident with the care and support they received from staff. People were safeguarded from abuse and neglect by a staff team who were trained in safeguarding procedures.

People received their medicines safely and as prescribed by staff who had been trained and assessed as competent to administer medicines.

Risk assessments had been completed to ensure people were supported to remain safe. There was clear guidance for staff on how to manage people’s risks.

Infection prevention and control (IPC) was well managed and staff were trained in safe IPC practices whilst providing care. Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was made available and worn by staff.

Staff were supported by a robust induction policy and had received relevant training to ensure that they had the required skills and experience to support people appropriately.

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 at CSK 24 Support Ltd Northampton supported this practice.

Staff and the management team were kind, caring and compassionate. People and their representatives told us that staff were kind to them and respected their dignity and their privacy.

Care records were person-centred and contained sufficient information about people’s preferences, specific routines, their life history and interests.

End of life care planning was in line with best practice guidance such as that provided by the Gold Standards Framework.

People and their representatives told us they were involved in the planning of their care and given opportunities to feedback on the service they received. People’s views were acted upon.

The provider had systems in place to encourage and respond to any complaints or compliments. People told us they were aware of the complaints policy and would feel comfortable approaching the registered manager if they had a complaint.

The provider and management team had good links with the local communities within which people lived.

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 2 March 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), late care calls and poor care. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As the service was registered with us on 02 March 2020 and was yet to be inspected, a decision was taken to undertake a comprehensive inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the Safe and Well-Led sections of this full report.

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.