Blossom Home Care Harrogate & Ripon

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.

This is the first inspection for this service. This key question has been rated requires improvement. This meant some aspects of the service were not always safe and there was limited assurance about safety. There was an increased risk that people could be harmed.

The service was in breach of the legal regulation in relation to people’s safe care and treatment.

This service scored 66 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. Staff listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

Accidents and incidents were documented and reviewed for themes, patterns or lessons that could be learned.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored. Staff worked closely with other agencies to ensure people’s needs were met. People told us managers and staff helped arrange appointments such as with their GP’s. One person said, “I wasn’t able to arrange [the appointment] myself, so they did it. They are going above and beyond."

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that. Staff 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 provider shared concerns quickly and appropriately.

Staff had received training in safeguarding people from abuse. People told us they felt safe using the service. They said, “I feel safe with my carers” and “Yes. I definitely feel safe from harm."

The provider worked with people to understand and manage risks. Care records were person centred. Risks and support needs of people, including health needs and impact of those, were identified as part of pre assessment. However, these had not always been consistently referenced or documented throughout people’s care records. Identified risks, particularly around health conditions, did not always have an associated risk assessment in place. There was not always clear detail throughout care records of how a risk might impact the person or how staff could help reduce those risks to people. Whilst we found no evidence that people had been harmed, there was an increased risk of harm as records did not always accurately reflect risks to, or give staff sufficient detail on how to mitigate risk.

Staff did provide care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them.

Where people experienced distress, we saw behavioural support plans were in place to guide staff on what might upset the person and how they should support them.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.

Staff received the induction, training and support they needed to carry out their roles effectively. Staff told us the training helped them carry out their roles safely. Staff told us they felt supported. One said, “Yes I get support. Every time I call [the office] for advice, someone answers the phone.” We found all required checks had been undertaken prior to staff commencing employment. However, managers oversight records included incorrect requirements regarding full employment history checks. The provider corrected the oversight records during the inspection to reflect legal requirements.

People told us staff were knowledgeable and capable. They said, “Absolutely I can’t fault [carers skills] at all” and “They know what they're doing."

The provider assessed and managed the risk of infection. They detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly. Staff had received training on infection prevention and control.

The provider made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. Medicines administered safely. Where people had topical creams, descriptions were on the medicines administration records (MAR), but no ‘body maps’ were in place to guide staff where to apply the cream. Some records relating to as required medicines needed to be more detailed. The provider responded during the inspection and records were updated. Medicines audits had not highlighted some unexplained gaps in medicines administration records. We have addressed this in the well-led section.