Key2Support

Updated 1 February 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014. This was a comprehensive inspection.

This inspection took place on 19 and 20 December 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection, so that the registered manager could contact people being supported and their relatives, to ask if they would be willing to provide us with feedback about the service. The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector. An inspector on induction was also involved in the second day of the inspection.

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service, including previous inspection reports and notifications we had received from the service. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. As part of the inspection we contacted one community professional who was involved with the service for their comments. We also contacted Lancashire County Council contracts team and Healthwatch Lancashire for feedback about the service. Healthwatch Lancashire is an independent organisation which ensures that people’s views and experiences are heard by those who run, plan and regulate health and social care services in Lancashire.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is 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.

During the inspection we spoke on the telephone with 10 people who received support from the service and six relatives. We spoke with three support workers, the registered manager, who was also a company director and the service’s other company director. We looked in detail at the care records of two people who received support from the service. In addition, we looked at service records including staff recruitment, supervision and training records, policies and procedures, complaints and compliments records and audits of quality and safety.

Updated 1 February 2019

We carried out an announced inspection of Key2Support on 19 and 20 December 2018.

Key2Support is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. At the time of our inspection the service was providing support to 107 people.

At our last inspection, we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

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

People told us they received safe care. Records showed that staff had been recruited safely and the staff we spoke with were aware of how to safeguard adults at risk. There were safe processes in place for the management and administration of medicines.

People told us staff visited them on time and stayed as long as they should. They told us they liked the staff who supported them and they were supported by staff they knew.

Staff received an effective induction and appropriate training which was updated regularly. People supported by the service and their relatives felt that staff were competent and had the knowledge and skills to meet their needs.

People received appropriate support with eating, drinking and their healthcare needs. Referrals were made to community health and social care professionals to ensure that people’s needs were met.

People told us staff treated them with dignity and respected their right to privacy. They told us staff encouraged them to be independent and did not rush them when providing support.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way; the policies and systems at the service supported this practice. Where people lacked the capacity to make decisions about their care, the service had taken appropriate action in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

We saw evidence that people received care that reflected their needs, risks and preferences. People’s care needs had been discussed with them and they were involved in everyday decisions about their care.

People being supported and their relatives told us they were happy with how the service was being managed. They found the registered manager and staff approachable. Staff told us the registered manager was approachable and they felt well supported.

The registered manager regularly sought feedback from people being supported and their relatives. We noted that people had expressed a high level of satisfaction about all areas of the service.

Audits and checks of the service were completed regularly. We found the checks completed were effective in ensuring that appropriate levels of quality and safety were maintained at the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.