King Homecare

Updated 10 February 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

Our inspection was completed by an inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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

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

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.

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 activity started on 1 February 2023 and ended on 3 February 2023. We visited the location’s office on 1 February 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held and had received about the service since the time of registration. We used information gathered as part of our telephone monitoring activity dated 4 August 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We sought feedback from the local authority and safeguarding team. We checked information held by Companies House and the Information Commissioner’s Office. We checked for any online reviews and relevant social media, and we looked at the content of the provider’s website. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do 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 4 relatives of people who use the service. We spoke with the registered manager. The registered manager of this service is also the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We received written feedback from 3 community social care professionals. We also received feedback from 1 care worker. We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people’s care records, 2 personnel files and medicines administration records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed. We wrote to the registered manager after the site visit and requested further documents and information. We received additional supporting information and written explanations to inform our findings and ratings.

Updated 10 February 2023

About the service

King Homecare is a care at home service providing personal care to people in Windsor, Berkshire. The service provides support to older adults, people living with dementia or mental health conditions, and those with sensory impairments or physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 6 people using the service. The service employs 3 staff, which includes the registered manager. The service provides additional non-regulated support to people such as cleaning, shopping and companionship.

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.

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

People were protected from abuse, neglect and omissions of care. People's likes, dislikes, preferences and choices were recorded. Risk assessments were in place but would benefit from a risk rating to understand whether the risks were effectively mitigated. Medicines management was safe. People were protected from infections. Enough staff were deployed, and personnel files contained all the necessary information required by law.

Care was person-centred. People received sufficient food and drinks, and this was covered in their support plan. The service worked well with community healthcare professionals. Care was compliant with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 requirements. Staff receive appropriate training and support, including supervisions.

There was a lot of positive feedback about the service, from people, relatives, staff and community professionals. People and relatives were involved in the care planning and review. People's independence was encouraged and promoted.

The support plans were individualised and stated what needs the person had and how they were met. Daily notes were good but could include more information about emotional and psychological welfare. There was a satisfactory method for managing complaints, however there were no complaints. The registered manager dealt with concerns when they were alerted to them. The service and staff actively helped prevent social isolation.

There was a good management oversight of the service. There were clear aims and objectives for the service. There were no notifiable safety incidents, but the registered manager needed to refresh their knowledge about the duty of candour requirement and how it applied to the service, including access to a suitable guidance document for support. Work on a continuous improvement plan was ongoing. There were a series of audits and checks in place to determine the safety and quality of the care. There was good effort to engage and encourage feedback from people and relatives. Regular staff meetings were held. There were good links with the local community and social care professionals.

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.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 16 July 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This is the first inspection since the new provider commenced operating the service.

Follow up

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