Alpha Care and Support Services Limited

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

Safe – this means we looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm.

The last rating for this key question was requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

 

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. Staff knew how to identify safety concerns and who to report them to in order to improve the quality of service people received.

There were systems for learning when things went wrong. People’s relatives told us they had been informed of accidents, incidents and other concerns. One relative told us how [person] had a fall on the stairs resulting in a grazed knee. When we discussed this further with the provider they explained [person] missed a step on the stairs which was noted as a near miss.

Following any accidents or incidents, the staff recorded these and they were investigated. The manager met with staff to discuss these and learn about how improvements could be made.

The manager had a system for tracking incidents and identifying themes.

The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. Staff knew how to identify safety concerns and who to report them to in order to improve the quality of service people received.

There were systems for learning when things went wrong. People’s relatives told us they had been informed of accidents, incidents and other concerns. One relative told us how [person] had a fall on the stairs resulting in a grazed knee. When we discussed this further with the provider they explained [person] missed a step on the stairs which was noted as a near miss.

Following any accidents or incidents, the staff recorded these and they were investigated. The manager met with staff to discuss these and learn about how improvements could be made.

The manager had a system for tracking incidents and identifying themes.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that. They concentrated on improving people’s lives while protecting their right to live in safety, free from bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect. The service shared concerns appropriately. The provider understood their role in the overall care of a person and knew how to report information to others whenever concerns arose. Staff we spoke to were able to describe forms of abuse and how they would report internally within their own organisation as well as externally to statutory bodies such as the local authority and the Care Quality Commission.

The provider worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. Staff provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them. Risks to people's safety and wellbeing had been assessed and risk assessments were in place. These assessments considered people’s physical and mental wellbeing and accessing the community. Risk assessments included detail about how staff should support people to help minimise the associated risk. These included personalised information and had been regularly reviewed and updated.

The service detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.The service carried out an assessment of environmental risks in people’s homes during the initial stages of the person’s assessment to check if it was safe for staff to work and carry out tasks. The provider carried out regular audits of the services to ensure people supported and staff were working in a safe environment .

The provider had enough experienced, qualified staff to provide safe care that met people’s individual needs. The provider ensured staff received regular supervision which provided staff with support as well as an opportunity for learning and further development.The provider had safe recruitment practices in place which were in line with current legislation. Staff record keeping was in place with all necessary documents including a list of each members training record held on file.

The provider assessed and managed the risk of infection.Staff told us about the personal protective equipment they used to reduce risks of s the spread of infections. One staff member told us, “We make sure that we have enough personal protective equiqment to support people effectively.” The provider carried out regular audits of the services which included infection control checks.

The service made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. There were procedures for recording, auditing and administering medicines to people. Staff told us they received medicines training and felt confident they could support people with medicines. Information about people's medicines was included in people’s care plans. Protocols for PRN (when required) medicines were in place. However, we noted that some information lacked detail, such as guidance for people who were prescribed certain PRN medicines.this was discussed with the provider who assured us they will review these . Staff competency checks were carried out for staff who supported people with medicines. A relative told us, “[person] medication is administered safely by staff and they let [person] know of any concerns.”