Authentic Kare Kettering

Updated 23 May 2023

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

Authentic Kare Kettering is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. This service also provides care and support to people living in 4 supported living settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post. The registered manager was also the provider and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider

Notice of Inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspections of the Kettering and Milton Keynes locations of Authentic Kare took place at the same time. We visited both offices during the inspection as there were overlaps in systems and processes between the 2 services.

Inspection activity started on 27 April 2023 and ended on 28 April 2023. We visited the Kettering location’s office on 27 April 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service.

The provider did not complete the required Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about the service, what it does well and improvements they plan to make. Please see the Well-Led section of this report for further details.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 people and 2 relatives of people who received support for feedback on their experience of the care provided. We spoke with registered manager, a care coordinator and received feedback via email from 25 members of care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people's care records and 1 person's medicine record. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service. This included quality assurance processes, training records and meeting minutes.

Updated 23 May 2023

About the service

Authentic Kare Kettering is a domiciliary care agency and a supported living service. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.

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. At the time of this inspection 21 people were receiving support with personal care.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

At the time of the inspection, the location provided care and support for 4 people with a learning disability. We assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Right Support

Staff supported people to have choice, control and independence over their lives. People were supported with their medicines in a way that achieved best possible health outcomes.

Staff supported people to access health and social care support, which included a regular review of their prescribed medicines. There were systems and processes in place to safeguard people from potential harm. Staff completed training about safeguarding and knew how to report abuse. Risks to people using the service were assessed and strategies were put in place to reduce the risks.

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.

Right Care

People had care plans and risk assessments in place setting out their care needs. Improvements had been made to the review process to ensure people’s care was regularly assessed and updated if changes were needed. Care plan information was detailed and provided staff with the guidance they needed to support people safely.

People were supported by staff who could communicate effectively with them as staff supported them consistently and knew them well. For example, the provider had recruited staff who were able to use a specific form of communication, to work with 1 person who used that form of communication.

People received care that focused on their quality of life and followed best practice, with input from a range of health and social care professionals.

Right Culture

Improvements had been made to the provider’s recruitment processes and staff files to ensure staff were recruited safely. People received care from staff who had the right character and skills for their roles.

Management oversight of the service had improved. A range of quality assurance audits were in place and were effective at identifying concerns or areas for improvement. Records management was more organised which made accessing and reviewing information easier.

The provider had systems in place to monitor incidents and accidents so action could be taken to promote people’s safety. The provider informed us they would re-introduce a monthly analysis of accidents and incidents to strengthen the systems in place.

Staff supervision, staff meetings and spot checks were undertaken regularly and used to develop and motivate staff, review their practice, and focus on professional development.

People and those important to them, were involved in planning their care. The service evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 20 July 2022) and there were breaches of regulation in the areas of staff recruitment processes and good governance. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check that the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions of Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions, not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed to Good.

Follow up

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