Excelcare Agency Ltd

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 assessment for this service. This key question has been rated 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.

There were systems to learn when things went wrong. There were procedures for responding to accidents, incidents and complaints. Staff were aware of these. Managers regularly reviewed people’s care and asked them for feedback. They updated care plans and risk assessments to reflect any changes in people’s needs and conditions. They shared this information with staff. There were regular staff meetings and messaging systems to ensure staff could learn following incidents or accidents. Relatives told us they had good communication with managers and could discuss anything that went wrong.

There were systems to enable safe transitions and pathways. Managers carried out thorough assessments of people’s needs to make sure they could provide safe and suitable care when people started using the service. The provider developed easy to access guides and information which could be shared with other health professionals when people needed to use different services.

There were systems to help protect people from abuse. The provider had safeguarding procedures. Staff undertook relevant training and had opportunities to discuss about safeguarding during meetings with the manager. Staff were able to explain how they would recognise and report abuse. The provider had developed information to share with people and their relatives about abuse and who they should contact if they had any concerns about safety. There had not been any safeguarding concerns at the agency, but the registered manager was aware of the safeguarding processes for different local authorities.

People using the service and their relatives felt safe with the agency and staff. Their comments included, “I feel [person] is safe” and “We do not feel there is any abuse. We would feel confident speaking up if we had any concerns.”

The provider assessed and planned for risks to people’s safety and wellbeing. They discussed these with the person and their relatives. There were comprehensive and detailed assessments relating to people’s care, personal needs, health conditions and any other identified risk. These included plans to help reduce risk. There were guides for staff, relatives and people to show how people should be safely cared for and flags to be aware of which would indicate someone was at risk of harm. Risk assessments and plans were regularly reviewed and updated. People and their relatives explained they felt risks were well managed and that people were supported to be independent, when this was safe, and to make informed choices about risk taking.

The provider assessed people’s home environments to help make sure these were safe. They offered support and advice to people and their relatives when they identified potential risks. They created plans to help ensure staff knew how to support people to move around their homes safely, including how to use any equipment people required.

There were enough staff to support people and keep them safe. People were cared for by the same regular care workers. They told us staff arrived on time and stayed for the right amount of time. Comments from people included, “We always have the same carers. They are very good. They are never late and we get on well with them.”

There were systems to ensure staff were suitable during recruitment. These included a range of checks and formal interviews. New staff completed inductions which included shadowing managers and undertaking a range of training. Managers assessed their skills, knowledge and competencies. Staff took part in regular meetings with their line manager to discuss their work and plan personal objectives. People told us staff were well trained and skilled.

There were systems to help prevent and control infection. The provider had developed procedures and staff were familiar with these. Staff undertook training to understand about good infection prevention control. Staff told us they had enough personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and aprons. People told us staff helped to keep their homes clean and followed good hygiene practices. Managers carried out spot checks on staff to observe them providing care. These checks included assessing whether staff followed infection prevention and control procedures, used PPE and had good hand hygiene.

People received safe support to manage their medicines. The provider assessed people’s medicines requirements and any risks associated with these. There was clear information about prescribed medicines, why people took these and any potential side effects. Staff undertook training to understand about safe medicines management. The provider assessed their knowledge, skills and competencies. Staff completed records to show when they had provided support with medicines. Managers audited these. People and their relatives were happy with the support people received with medicines. They told us staff helped to collect medicines and liaise with pharmacies when needed.