18 December 2017
During a routine inspection
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults, people living with dementia, mental health impairments, physical disabilities, sensory impairment, and younger adults.
Not everyone using Kensington Community Care Birmingham Service receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. At this inspection we found that 57 people were receiving this type of support. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.
There was a registered manager in post when we inspected this service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The service was last inspected in October 2016, and was rated as requires improvement overall. We found improvement was needed with the training staff received and how the provider recorded people’s capacity to make decisions. We also found people’s care plans were not personalised to ensure staff were aware of people’s individual risks. The systems in place to ensure shortfalls were identified were not consistently effective. We looked at how the service had improved since our last inspection.
People were supported by staff that understood how to keep people safe. We saw examples where safe guarding concerns were raised and acted upon. People had clear risk assessments and were supported by regular staff. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse and protect them from infection through their practice. The registered manager investigated accidents and incidents and took action to ensure people were safe.
People and their relatives told us there was a clear assessment process and people had the support they needed. Staff received appropriate training that maintained their skills. When people needed support with food and drink, staff promoted a healthy lifestyle. The management team worked with other organisations when they needed to, and ensured health professionals were involved as required. People were able to make their own decisions and staff supported them to be as independent as possible.
People were supported by caring staff who listened to people and met their needs. People had support from regular staff that knew them well. Staff encouraged people to be as independent as possible and treated them with dignity and respect.
People said they had their needs met, and staff said they had the information they needed to ensure people had the support they wanted. People were supported in a flexible way and the service was adapted to changes in their needs. Complaints were investigated and actioned and lessons learnt shared with staff.
Systems in place to monitor the quality of the care identified short falls and the management team put in place an improvement plan to ensure quality care was delivered. The registered manager knew people’s needs well and regularly talked to people about the quality of their care. Staff said they were well supported and were supported to share best practice ideas.