This first inspection of Karva Care Services Limited rated the service Good overall, with people receiving kind, personalised care from a trained and established staff team. Well-led was rated Requires Improvement due to gaps in quality monitoring of call timekeeping, medicines records and mental capacity assessments.
Concerns (7)
moderate
Governance
: “the registered manager had not used their own quality assurance system to appraise the punctuality of staff and to identify if staff rotas needed to be amended”
moderateMissed or late visits: “Some relatives raised concerns about the variable times of people's care calls which was discussed with the registered manager.”
moderateMedication management: “We reviewed a sample of people's medicines records on the systems and found gaps in two people's medicine administration records (MAR).”
moderateSafeguarding: “not all staff were fully aware of aspects of the provider's safeguarding policy on the action they should take if the registered manager had not taken appropriate action”
minorRecord keeping: “the registered manager acknowledged that they needed to expand the recording of their staff checks to demonstrate the level and types of competency assessments”
minorConsent / capacity: “they would need to implement an assessment of people's mental capacity in relation to specific decisions about their care”
minorCare planning: “some people's care plans would benefit from more details about their personal care preferences such as how they wished to be supported with their personal and oral hygiene”
Strengths
· Staff described as kind, competent, and treating people with dignity and respect
· Established staff team who knew people well and provided personalised care
· Effective induction, Care Certificate completion and ongoing training for staff
· Good infection prevention and control practices and PPE use during COVID-19
· Safe recruitment practices including DBS, references and employment checks
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: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawNot rated
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceNot rated
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietNot rated
effective: Staff working with other agencies; supporting people to access healthcareNot rated
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceNot 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
caring: Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceNot rated
responsive: Planning personalised care to ensure people have choice and control and to meet their needs and preferencesNot 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: Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empoweringNot rated
well-led: Duty of candour and continuous learning and improving careNot rated
well-led: Engaging and involving people, the public and staffNot rated
well-led: Working in partnership with othersNot rated