Kent Enablement at Home

Updated 5 September 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the registered persons continued to meet 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.

The inspection took place on 9 and 10 August 2018. The inspection was announced and was carried out by two inspectors. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure the manager, staff and people we needed to speak to were available.

Prior to the inspection, we reviewed information sent to us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require registered persons 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 examined other information we held about the service. This included notifications of incidents that the registered persons had sent us since our last inspection. These are events that happened in the service that the registered persons are required to tell us about.

During the inspection we visited three people in their homes and spoke to them about their experiences of the service. We also spoke with nine people using the service, five care staff, a supervisor, an operational support officer and the registered manager. We looked at the care records of sixteen people using the service. We looked at records that related to how the service was managed including staffing, training and quality assurance.

Updated 5 September 2018

This comprehensive inspection was carried out on 9 and 10 August 2018 and was announced.

Kent Enablement at Home is a domiciliary care agency which provides an enablement service to people in their own homes for a period of up to six weeks. The service offers support to encourage and enable people to live independently at home, often following a stay in hospital. The support is provided for a range of people including people with physical disabilities and dementia. Not everyone using Kent Enablement at Home receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. The service operates in the Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, Maidstone and Malling area. At the time of the inspection there were approximately 150 people using the service.

The service had 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.

Rating at last inspection

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.

Why the service is rated good.

Suitable processes were in place to keep people safe from different types of abuse. When risks to people or the environment were identified, staff took action to minimise them. There were enough staff to meet people's needs and those staff were recruited safely. People were supported with their medicines in a safe way. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection. Lessons were learned when things went wrong.

Each person’s needs were assessed before their service began. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to meet these needs. People were supported to lead healthier lives and had timely access to healthcare services. People were supported to drink and eat enough to maintain a balanced diet. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. People were supported to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care and support. People were encouraged to be as independent as they could be. People’s dignity and privacy was respected. People’s personal information was kept private.

People received person-centred care that was responsive to their needs. People knew how to complain and complaints were responded to in line with the service’s policies and procedures. Staff knew how to identify people who might be coming to the end of their life.

Staff said the service was open, transparent and that they felt supported by their managers. There were audits in place which checked the quality of the service being provided. Staff were involved in developing the service. The registered manager had developed links with the local community.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.