Background to this inspection
Updated
18 October 2019
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
There was one inspector.
Service and service type
In Safe Hands is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 24 September 2019 and ended on 26 September 2019. We visited the office location on 26 September 2019.
What we did before the inspection
We looked at the information we held about the service and used this to help us plan our inspection. We checked records held by Companies House. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We spoke with five people who used the service and one person’s relative.
During the inspection
We spoke with two members of staff including the registered manager and a care co-ordinator. The registered manager was also the owner of the agency. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including checks on the quality of care provided.
After the inspection
We continued to seek feedback from a further two staff members.
Updated
18 October 2019
About the service
In Safe Hands is a domiciliary care agency. It is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes, including older people and younger adults. At the time of the inspection visit the service supported 27 people.
People’s experience of using this service
People felt safe using the service and staff understood how to recognise and report abuse. Staff recruitment processes included background checks to review their suitability to work with vulnerable adults. People received support from staff when needed and they were supported to have their medicines as prescribed.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink to maintain their well-being. People were supported to obtain advice from healthcare professionals when required.
People received care from a consistent staff team who knew them well and treated them with dignity and respect. People’s independence was promoted wherever possible.
People were involved in planning their care with support from staff. People and their families understood how to complain if they wanted to. Staff provided care to people at the end of their lives.
The provider and the registered manager were open and honest, and worked in partnership with outside agencies to improve people’s support when required. There were checks in place to ensure good standards of care were maintained.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Rating at last inspection and update: The last rating for this service was good overall with a rating of requires improvement in well led (published March 2017). At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the service was rated as Good in all areas. This means that the service has maintained a rating of Good overall.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.