Kaplan Care

Kaplan Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. At the time of our inspection there were 15 older people using the service who required supported with their personal care. 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 could not be sure their prescribed medicines were always managed in a safe way. Staff supported people to complete personal care tasks and activities. However, people’s assessed needs were not set out in their care plans.

Individual risks were not always assessed and managed to keep people safe. Care plans and risk assessments were inconsistent and did not always detail the relevant information staff would need to meet people's assessed care and health needs. People could not be assured new staff were adequately checked to ensure they were suitable to work with people to keep them safe. We found no evidence that people had been harmed however, systems were either not robust enough to demonstrate staff recruitment was effectively managed.

Staff had not always received training to make sure they had the skills to meet people's specific care needs. Staff told us they felt well supported by the management team.

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.

The systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service were not robust or sufficient. No audits had taken place. Two weeks before the inspection a new manager had started work and had identified improvements that were required with the nominated individual. They had produced an action plan and had started to address the shortfalls. Registered persons had notified CQC of incidents and events such as abuse.

People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. The management team promoted an open culture to encourage staff to raise any concerns.

Where required, people were supported to ensure their dietary needs and preferences were met. Staff worked closely with occupational therapists and other agencies to assess people’s needs and to ensure people were supported with their changing needs.

Despite the concerns identified at the inspection, people said staff treated them with dignity and their privacy was respected. People were supported to be as independent as possible. People gave us positive feedback about their care and support. They told us, “So far, Kaplan Care have been excellent. We’ve had no issues at all”; “They always remember what you want”; “Everything is fine, the carer does what my mum asks. Having them is a weight off my mind” and “The staff are very thoughtful.”

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 15 July 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This is the service’s first inspection since registering with the Care Quality Commission.

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 and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to risk management, medicines management, safe recruitment, staff training, assessment of care and care planning, quality management systems and notification of events that require reporting to CQC.

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 from 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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.