Kare Plus Kingston

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• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

People and their relatives were involved in the assessment process, identifying their support needs and how they wished to be supported. People and their relatives felt involved in their care decisions, and staff were aware of the importance of asking people for their consent prior to providing support. Staff had received training on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and supported people in line with this Act.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People were involved in the assessment process and planning how their needs were to be met. Comments we received included, “I met with the manager and discussed what I was looking for and what was required. Following this the manager arranged for care workers to come and meet my family member. Her needs have increased over time, and they (Kare Plus) have accommodated them” and “when the manager met with me, she did a full assessment. She understood my requirement for consistency with care workers as my family member has dementia. I felt she was keen to develop a working relationship with me and a willingness to work with me. [The manager] asked lots of questions and we put a care plan together.” People confirmed staff continued to assess their needs as people’s needs changed. People and relatives told us, “We asked for care workers to come at 07.00hrs and that is when they arrive. As my family member’s needs have increased the agency has been able to support us, such as arranging care workers at the weekends” and “I have asked for an increase in care hours next month and the agency have been able to accommodate this. I am also going away soon and have asked for additional support, which they have been able to provide. I find Kare Plus very flexible.”

The management team informed us about their process for assessing people’s needs, which included involving them and their family so they could understand how people wanted their care to be delivered. They said, “We go to the person’s house to undertake an assessment and complete the care plan. Go through it with the person and their family. We ask all the questions following the care plan to understand their needs. We ask the person to look through the care plan and approve the documentation.” Care staff told us they continued to assess people’s needs and go through support plans with people. One staff member said, “Their plan of care is shared on a daily basis with them. This gets them involved and makes them feel part of their care.”

Assessments were undertaken to identify people’s support needs. These were undertaken with the person, and their relative, so they were able to explain how they would like support to be delivered. People’s needs were reviewed at regular intervals to ensure care delivery took account of any changes in people’s needs.

We did not look at Delivering evidence-based care and treatment during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at How staff, teams and services work together during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at Supporting people to live healthier lives during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at Monitoring and improving outcomes during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

People felt involved in their care and staff ensured they consented to the care and support provided. One person said, “I find the staff very respectful. They help me to wash or shower and they never make me feel embarrassed; they are very matter of a fact and tell me they are here to help me, they reassure me.”

Staff were aware of their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and cared for people in line with the principles of the Act. Staff told us, “I assume everyone has capacity unless you have concerns that they don’t. If we have concerns about a person’s capacity then we report it,”; “The people I am working with have capacity to make their own choices” and “I involve them in every task and provide them with the opportunity to make decisions and give consent for each activity.”

People’s care records clearly identified if a person had capacity to consent to their care. The records reviewed showed people did have capacity and were involved in all aspects of their care. Processes were in place to support a person appropriately should they not have capacity to consent to elements of their care. This included identification of those with lasting power of attorney who had the authority to make decisions on a person’s behalf should they lack capacity to consent to their own care.