Karis Care Services Ltd received an overall rating of Good at its first inspection, with care delivery, staffing consistency and person-centred practice praised across four of five key questions. The Requires Improvement rating for well-led reflects significant record-keeping gaps including absent supervision records, unrecorded DBS check dates, undocumented medicines competency observations, and a quality assurance system that failed to identify these issues.
Concerns (7)
moderateRecord keeping: “Records to reflect that all appropriate recruitment checks were undertaken before staff started work were not in place and although staff said they felt supported and received supervisions, no records of these were kept.”
moderateGovernance: “The provider had quality assurance systems in place, however they were not fully effective as they had failed to identify the need for maintaining relevant records.”
moderateStaff competency: “Observations to ensure staff competency in administration of medicines were not recorded.”
moderateSupervision / appraisal: “Although staff said they felt supported and received supervisions, no records of these were kept.”
minorCare planning: “Care plans were personalised however some lacked detailed information about people's preferences. For example, where people were supported with their medicines this was not always reflected.”
minorConsent / capacity: “Records regarding people's ability to consent needed to be clearer and some care plans required more detail.”
minorCultural competency: “The assessment process did not always ensure people's protected equality characteristics were identified. The registered manager told us they would amend the document used to ensure this was covered.”
Strengths
· People were treated with kindness, compassion, dignity and respect, with consistently positive feedback from people and relatives.
· Consistent staffing ensured people and staff built positive relationships and staff were familiar with individual needs.
· Staff received specialist training based on individual needs and worked proactively with external health professionals.
· People were empowered to make their own decisions and maintain independence, with care planned around individual preferences.
· Medicines were administered safely, records were accurately maintained, and no errors had been made.
Quality-Statement breakdown (20)
safe: Staffing levelsGood
safe: Supporting people to stay safe from harm and abuseGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementGood
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
effective: Staff skills, knowledge and experienceGood
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceGood
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawGood