Kosicare Ltd

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 is 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 inspection was announced and took place on 21 January 2019. We gave the provider one week’s notice of the inspection because senior staff are sometimes out of the office supporting staff or visiting people who use the service. We needed to be sure that senior staff would be available to speak with us on the day of our inspection. The inspection team consisted of a single inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information, we held about the service. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. 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. We also looked at statutory notifications submitted by the provider. Statutory notifications contain information providers are required to send us about significant events that take place within services.

During the inspection we visited the provider’s office and spoke to the registered manager. We looked at the care records of four people using the service. We also looked at other records relating to staff training and supervision and to the management of the service. After the inspection we spoke to two relatives of people using the service and asked them for feedback.

Updated 1 February 2019

Kosicare Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’, that is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do this, we also take into account any wider social care provided.

At our last inspection of the service in July 2018 we were not able to rate the service because only one person was being provided support and we did not have sufficient evidence of consistent good practice over time. However, we found no information or evidence at that time to demonstrate any serious risks or concerns about the service and the care provided.

Since the last inspection the service has moved location to a new address but remains based in London Borough of Croydon. This inspection took place on 21 January 2019. At the time of this inspection four people were using the service. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns.

People received care and support from the service that had been planned and agreed with them. People’s choices for how support was provided were respected and staff delivered this in line with their wishes.

Staff supporting people, understood their needs and how these should be met. They encouraged people to be involved in aspects of their personal care to promote their independence. Staff treated people with respect and maintained their dignity and privacy when providing support.

Staff supported people to eat and drink enough to meet their needs. Records maintained by staff after each scheduled visit helped to keep everyone involved in people’s care informed and up to date about the support provided to people. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s healthcare needs and how they should be supported with these in a timely and appropriate way. Staff ensured people received their medicines as prescribed.

Staff remained aware of possible signs of abuse and how to report their concerns about people’s safety to the appropriate persons and agencies. Staff understood the risks posed to people and followed guidance about how these should be minimised to keep people safe from injury or harm. Staff followed good practice to ensure risks were minimised from poor hygiene and cleanliness when providing personal care and when preparing and handling food.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff continued to receive relevant training to help them meet peoples’ needs and were supported by the registered manager to continuously improve in their role to help them provide effective support to people.

Staff were aware of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and supported people in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The provider had systems in place to monitor and review the quality of service and to deal with any complaints made about the service. Records relating to people, staff and to the management of the service were accurate and up to date.

The service continued to have a registered manager in post. The registered manager was aware of their registration responsibilities particularly with regards to submission of statutory notifications about key events that occurred at the service.

The provider worked in partnership with local authorities and organisations funding people’s care, so they were kept up to date and well informed about people’s care and support needs. The provider was building relationships with local authority commissioning teams to raise the profile of the service and in this way hoped to grow the business further.