We undertook an announced inspection on 12 October 2016.

We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because the organisation provides a domiciliary care service to people in their homes and or the family home; we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office.

Kent Enablement at Home (KEaH) is part of the Social Care, Health and Wellbeing Directorate of Kent County Council. It is the in-house provider for support at home for older people and adults with a physical disability. The service has been designed for people who need support to regain their independence after a medical or social crisis. The service provides time limited support to people in their own home, for a period of three weeks initially. The service supports people who have been discharged from hospital, or those referred who live in their own home. Support provided includes help with day to day tasks like cooking, shopping, washing and dressing and help to maintain their health and wellbeing. There were 107 people using the service at the time of our inspection, living in the areas of Ashford and Shepway and surrounding areas. People were funded through Kent County Council Social Services.

There was a registered manager for this service. He was also the operations manager of the service and covered the five registered locations, providing a similar service in other areas of Kent. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered providers and registered managers 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.

People we spoke with said being supported by this service improved their safety. Staff we spoke with recognised the different types of abuse. There were systems in place to guide staff in reporting any concerns. Staff were knowledgeable about how to manage people’s individual risks, and were able to respond to people's needs. When needed people were supported to receive their medicines by staff that were trained and knew about the risks associated with them.

Staff had up to date knowledge and training to support people. They always ensured people gave their consent to the support they received. The management team regularly reviewed how people were supported to make decisions. People were supported to eat and drink well, when identified as part of their care planning. They explained that they were supported to make their own decisions and be as independent as they could. People and their relatives told us staff would access health professionals as soon as they were needed. We saw there was effective communication with people, staff and health care professionals which improved people’s well-being.

People and their relatives told us that being supported by this service made a difference to their lives. They said the staff were caring and always treated them with dignity and respect. Relatives told us they were involved as part of the team to support their family member.

People and their relatives knew how to raise complaints and the management team had arrangements in place to ensure people were listened to and appropriate action taken. Staff were involved in regular meetings, training and one to one’s to share their views and concerns about the quality of the service. Staff said the management team were accessible and supportive to them. The support provided was adaptable to changes in peoples’ needs and changes were communicated to staff effectively.

The management team monitored the quality of the service in an inclusive way. The registered manager ensured there was a culture of openness and inclusion for people using the service and staff. The management team had systems in place to identify improvements and action them in a timely way.