Background to this inspection
Updated
28 March 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
The inspection was carried out by an inspector and an assistant inspector. An expert by experience made telephone calls to people using the agency. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert had experience caring for an older person.
Service and service type:
Angels Home Care (Kent) Limited is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to the elderly, people that were living with dementia and people who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder.
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.
Notice of inspection:
We gave the service 5 days’ notice of the inspection site visit because we required the registered manager to gain consent from people to contact them for feedback.
Inspection site visit activity started on 4 March 2019 and ended on that day. We visited the office location on 4 March 2019 to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.
What we did:
Before visiting the service, we looked information sent to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) through notifications. Notifications are information we receive when a significant event happens, like a death or a serious injury. We also looked at information sent to us by the registered manager through the Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR contains information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at the previous inspection record.
We reviewed four people's care records, which included care plans, risk assessments, daily care records and medicines records. We looked at documentation that related to staff management and recruitment including four staff files. We also looked at a sample of policies and complaints and compliments.
We gathered people’s experiences of the service. We spoke with six people and three relatives to gain their views. We also spoke with the registered manager, two members of the management team and two members of care staff. We received feedback from two external health and social care professionals.
Updated
28 March 2019
About the service:
Angels Home Care (Kent) Limited is family run domiciliary care provider that was providing personal care to people in their own homes. People receiving support had a range of needs including, the elderly, people that were living with dementia and people who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection there were 66 people receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service:
¿ People told us they received a service where the staff felt like an extended member of their family. People said they received a quality service and would recommend the agency to others.
¿ People told us they felt safe with the staff who knew how to meet their needs, in the way they preferred. People’s needs were assessed prior to receiving a service. People’s protected characteristics under the Equalities Act were supported.
¿ People were at the centre of their care and support; care plans enabled people to maintain their independence. Care records were regularly reviewed to ensure they met people’s needs. Staff knew what action to take to protect people from the risk of abuse.
¿ People were provided with consistency and continuity of care with a small team of staff. Staff were to be recruited safely and the management team worked as part of the care team to ensure there were enough staff to meet people’s needs.
¿ Potential risks posed to people and staff had been mitigated. Staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments and express their views about their support. Staff worked alongside health care professionals to promote people’s health.
¿ People told us staff were skilled in carrying out their role. Staff said they were supported by the management team, who they saw on a regular basis.
¿ People told us the staff were kind and caring; staff promoted people’s privacy and dignity at all times. Staff responded to people’s emotional needs which had been included within their care plan.
¿ People, staff and others were encouraged to raise any concerns they had or make suggestions to improve the service.
¿ The management team promoted an open culture where staff were kept informed about any changes to their role. Staff told us they enjoyed working for the agency, and that the management team were approachable and listened to their ideas and suggestions.
¿ Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service; spot checks and reviews were carried out by the management team.
Rating at last inspection:
This service was rated, “Good” at the last inspection on 13 July 2016. We published this rating on 24 August 2016.
Why we inspected:
This was a planned comprehensive inspection to check the service remained Good. We found overall that the service continued to meet the characteristics of Good.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive. We will carry out another scheduled inspection to make sure the service continues to maintain a Good rating.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk