Kare Plus Kingston

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

A registered manager was now in post, and together with their management team was providing clear leadership and management of the service. The staff felt well supported in their role and felt comfortable having open and honest conversations with their manager. The governance framework had improved to ensure it reviewed all areas of service delivery. This included obtaining views from people, relatives and staff about what was working well and areas they felt needed improving. There was a commitment to continue to develop and improve service delivery to ensure people received high quality care that met their needs.

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.

Staff were aware of the provider’s vision and values and provided care in line with these. They said this included adhering to the provider’s equality and diversity policy. The management team told us they ensured staff were adhering to the provider’s values during spot checks.

A business strategy was in place, which aligned to the provider’s vision and values. All staff were expected to reflect the provider’s values when supporting people to ensure a compassionate, inclusive and person-centred approach to care provision which promoted people and staff’s wellbeing.

Staff felt well supported in their role and that there were capable and compassionate leaders in place. They confirmed there was good access to the management team and someone was available to help and support. Staff told us, “It’s a lovely company to work with. It’s easy to contact the managers. You only need to ring once and they know you are in need of something. They respond as fast as possible.”

Since our last inspection a registered manager had been appointed. There were clear leadership and management structures in place and staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities.

Staff were given the opportunity to speak up and discuss any concerns they had in a safe and trusting environment. They felt comfortable speaking up and felt able to have open and honest discussions with the management team. They felt confident that any concerns raised would be addressed in a timely manner.

A whistleblowing policy was in place and staff were aware of it.

Staff felt there was an inclusive environment at Kare Plus Kingston and the management team were sensitive to staff’s individual needs. They said there were measures in place which made them feel valued and appreciated, including recognition of birthdays and important religious dates. The registered manager told us, “We are available to support them (care staff) for any personal needs. We communicate daily and are flexible and accessible should then need us. We are flexible around their individual needs. We can accommodate any health appointments they have so they don’t have to use leave for this.” This flexibility and individualised approach was confirmed by the staff we spoke with.

Policies and procedures were in place to ensure staff wellbeing and ensure staff’s individual differences were respected.

Staff confirmed that the management team regularly checked their work to ensure they were providing high quality care in line with people’s needs. They told us, “They come to spot check us unannounced to inspect the quality of care been delivered”, “Management come out to chat with the person and their family to check on our work and the support we provide” and “The quality of care is regularly assessed through direct observations, spot checks, and client feedback, ensuring compliance with standards and continuous improvement.”

A governance framework was now in place to ensure service delivery was reviewed and to monitor the quality and safety of care provision. A programme of audits, spot checks and monitoring activities were undertaken to review practices and identify where improvements were required if necessary.

People were asked for their feedback and involved in reviewing and improving service delivery. Comments included, “The manager visits every month to six weeks to see how my family member is and how the care is going. She is also always on the phone putting things in place, such as recently she sorted a cleaner for us”, “I am contacted about every month and asked if everything is okay, if I have any comments to make” and “[The manager] sometimes turns up to see how I am. I also know that I can raise anything with her such as changing the rota. I can contact her to ask if the staff can come in earlier for example or to make adjustments to my care. I know that they will sort things for me.”

Staff were given the opportunity to feedback about their experiences and work in partnership with the management team. Comments we received included, “We have quarterly individual assessments; we can discuss any concerns we have and they (the management team) respond to them. You have the opportunity to make your opinion known.” “The company issues me with questionnaires to provide my views about the service and also allows me to give them feedback about what areas need to be improved in case there is any.”

We contacted the health and social care professionals working with the service but we did not receive any feedback.

Staff, people and relatives were given the opportunity to share their experiences and views. Their feedback was used to improve service delivery and tailor the service to meet people’s needs. This included improving systems to ensure greater transparency and communication between staff and relatives through accessibility to electronic care records.

The staff and management team were committed to learning and improving their practices. They continued to work and develop the service to improve outcomes and experiences for people. If any areas of improvement were identified through their governance framework these were incorporated into their action plan and addressed. The registered manager told us, “The priorities for the business is to have an outstanding care business and improve as much as possible. To ensure everyone involved is able to provide high quality care, be happy and healthy in their work and their home life. We continue to want to improve and review.”

Processes were in place to ensure continuous improvement. We saw that comprehensive action plans were in place when governance processes identified that improvements were required. These action plans were monitored to ensure all actions were completed in a timely manner. Action had been taken by the management team to ensure improvements were made from the last CQC inspection and address previous breaches of regulation.