Careinmyhome Kent

Updated 29 April 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team on site consisted of 1 inspector. After the site visit, an expert by experience made telephone calls to people and relatives. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Careinmyhome Kent is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

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.

Inspection site visit activity took place on 16 February May 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 1 person using the service and 4 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 2 care staff, the regional manager and registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. These included 5 people's care records, staff files in relation to recruitment and training and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including the quality monitoring systems and audits.

Updated 29 April 2023

About the service

Careinmyhome Kent is a domiciliary care service that provides care and support to people living in their own houses or flats in the community. At the time of our inspection, 8 people were using the service. 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.

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

The service had safeguarding procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these procedures. Appropriate recruitment checks had taken place before staff started work and there were enough staff available to meet people’s care and support needs. Risks to people had been assessed to ensure their needs were safely met. The service had procedures in place to reduce the risk of infections. People’s medicines were managed safely.

People’s care and support needs were assessed before they started using the service. Staff were supported through training and regular supervision. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet and had access to health care professionals when they needed them.

People's privacy, dignity and independence was promoted. People and relatives told us staff were kind and caring.

People and relatives spoke positively about the service and said they felt safe. Care records highlighted people’s needs and the support required, however care records were inconsistent as there were different formats being used. We have made a recommendation about care planning documentation. The service had a complaints procedure in place. No one at the service was receiving end of life care.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. There was some feedback about the lack of engagement from the management team. Records did show the service sought the views of people and their relatives. The service worked in partnership with health and social care providers to plan and deliver an effective service.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for the service under the previous provider at the previous premises was good, (published on 11 February 2021).

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Careinmyhome Kent on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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