K&R CARE is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. The service has provided personal care people since they became active in November 2021. At the time of our inspection three people were receiving a home care service. The Care Quality Commission (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. We conducted our on-site assessment of this service on 16 August 2024 and off-site assessment activity continued until 24 September 2024. We looked at 15 quality statements. The registered manager and staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. Staff were guided by up to date safeguarding policies and received safeguarding training. People’s risks were assessed, and staff had guidance in care records on providing people’s care and support safely. The provider ensured there were enough staff available to deploy to people’s homes and provide care and support. People’s medicines were stored and recorded correctly. People’s medicines were administered by trained staff. Medicines records were signed appropriately and checked by office staff. Staff followed good hygiene practices when providing personal care and preparing food. The service had a registered manager in post. Care staff felt supported by the register manager and office team. Staff felt confident sharing their views and providing feedback about how the service was run. The provider worked collaboratively with health and social care professionals and other organisations. The registered manager and staff undertook continuous training to maintain and improve their skills and knowledge.
PDF cached but not yet analysed by Claude; set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY and re-run npm run etl:reports -- --location 1-11476607528.
K&R Care, a small domiciliary care agency in London, was rated Requires Improvement overall at its first inspection due to a breach of Regulation 17 (Good Governance) involving numerous omissions on electronic MAR sheets that the provider's oversight systems failed to identify. People nonetheless received their prescribed medicines on time and reported high satisfaction with caring, effective and responsive person-centred support from a stable, well-trained staff team.
Concerns (3)
criticalGovernance: “the provider's governance systems were not being operated effectively enough to minimise the risks associated with them. This placed people at risk of harm and represents a breach of regulation 17”
moderateMedication management: “we found a number of omissions on electronic Medicines Administration Records (MAR) sheets where staff had failed to sign and date when they had administered people's prescribed medicines.”
moderateRecord keeping: “records they were expected to keep were not always appropriately maintained.”
Strengths
· People received continuity of care from a small group of dedicated staff familiar with their needs
· Thorough pre-employment checks including DBS for staff recruitment
· Person-centred care plans with detailed risk assessments regularly reviewed
· Staff treated people with dignity, kindness and respected privacy and independence
· Comprehensive induction mapped to the Care Certificate and ongoing training
Quality-Statement breakdown (23)
safe: Using medicines safelyNot rated
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseNot rated
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementNot rated
safe: Staffing and recruitmentNot rated
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionNot rated
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongNot rated
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceNot rated
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawNot rated
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietNot rated
effective: Supporting people to live healthier lives, access healthcare services and supportNot rated
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceNot rated
caring: Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceNot rated
caring: Ensuring people are well treated and supported; respecting equality and diversityNot rated
caring: Supporting people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their careNot rated
responsive: Planning personalised care to meet people's needs, preferences, interests and give them choice and controlNot rated
responsive: Supporting people to develop and maintain relationships to avoid social isolationNot rated
responsive: Meeting people's communication needsNot rated
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsNot rated
responsive: End of life care and supportNot rated
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, and understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsNot rated
well-led: Planning and promoting person-centred, high-quality care and support; duty of candourNot rated
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staffNot rated
well-led: Working in partnership with othersNot rated