This inspection took place on 5 July 2016. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice we would be visiting to ensure the registered manager would be at the service. At our previous inspection on 30 December 2013 the service was meeting all the legal requirements we inspected.Kentish Homecare Agency Limited provides personal care and support for people in their own homes in the London Borough of Bromley. On the day of our inspection there were 87 people using the service.
Kentish Homecare Agency Limited had a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
We found that medicine administration arrangements were not always clearly documented and this required improvement. There were processes in place to monitor the quality of the service however, these were not always effective. Audits did not include details of accidents and the measures put in place from them happening again or that the medicine administration arrangements for people were not always clearly recorded.
Safeguarding adult's procedures were robust and staff understood how to safeguard the people they supported. There was a whistle-blowing procedure available and staff said they would use it if they needed to.
There were enough staff on duty to meet people's needs and there was an out of hours on call system. The provider conducted appropriate recruitment checks before staff started work to ensure staff were suitable and fit to support people using the service.
Staff received supervision, appraisals and training appropriate to their needs and the needs of people they supported to enable them to carry out their roles effectively. There were processes in place to ensure staff new to the service were inducted into the service appropriately.
The registered manager and staff understood the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and acted according to this legislation.
People’s nutritional needs and preferences were met and people had access to health and social care professionals when required.
People were treated with kindness and compassion and people's privacy and dignity was respected. People were provided with information about the service when they joined in the form of a 'service user guide' which included the service's complaints policy. People and their relatives knew about the home's complaints procedure and said they believed their complaints would be investigated and action taken if necessary.
People were involved in their care planning and the care and support they received was personalised and staff respected their wishes and met their needs. Support plans and risk assessments provided clear information for staff on how to support people using the service with their needs. Support plans were reflective of people's individual care needs and preferences and were reviewed on a regular basis. Peoples' care files were kept both in people's home and in the office. People were supported to be independent where possible such as attending to some aspects of their own personal care.
People told us they thought the service was generally well run and that the registered manager was supportive. There were systems in place to carry out staff spot checks to ensure consistency and quality was maintained whilst supporting people in the community. The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities as a registered manager in relation to notifying CQC about reportable incidents. People and relatives were provided with opportunities to provide feedback about the service.