Ultimate Homecare 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.

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.

The provider had a procedure to record any accidents and incidents. Staff were required to fill in an incident form and contact the registered manager for advice if they saw a person had sustained an injury or had an accident. The registered manager told us learning from any such accidents/incidents would be shared with staff to prevent the risk of similar events happening again.

Staff knew how to respond to accidents and incidents and felt confident action would be taken to keep people safe. Staff described a supportive culture where learning would be taken to improve people’s experiences. One staff member told us, “If a mistake happens, we will sit down together and see what went wrong and then seek a resolution around that."

One relative described good communication about any concerns and told us, “They have been really good at keeping us informed.”

There had been no accidents or incidents since the provider had been registered so we could not assess the effectiveness of these systems.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored. They made sure there was continuity of care, including when people moved between different services.

The registered manager liaised with hospital discharge teams and other agencies to make sure people returned home safely from hospital with the right equipment and level of support.

Where people transitioned to another service, the registered worked with the person, their relatives and the new provider to ensure a safe and effective pathway to the service. Where required, this included companionship visits to maintain continuity in care.

In an emergency, staff stayed with people until family or emergency healthcare support arrived. The provider had processes to share information about people’s medication, immediate support needs and their wishes for future care with other healthcare professionals. However, we found hospital transfer sheets would benefit from more detail when people had a modified diet.

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.

Relatives felt their family members received safe care and support from staff at Ultimate Homecare Ltd. One relative told us, “It just makes life so much easier, it allows [Name] to be more independent and it’s that security blanket for me to know they are being looked after well.”

The provider had policies and procedures in place to safeguard people from the risks of abuse and harm. Policies provided staff with detailed guidance about the processes they needed to follow if any safeguarding concerns were identified.

Staff received training in safeguarding children and adults. They understood their role in keeping people safe from abuse, neglect or discrimination and reporting any concerns they had.

The registered manager had a thorough knowledge of safeguarding procedures and was a train the trainer in safeguarding for adults and children.

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 associated with people’s care and support needs were assessed and plans developed to mitigate identified risks. For example, in relation to supporting people to move and transfer safely.

Staff worked with people to understand what being safe meant to them and helping people maintain their independence. One staff member explained, “Sometimes people make unwise decisions. It is about highlighting the risks and if they still choose to take those risks, making it as safe as possible." Relatives spoke positively about how staff managed risks to keep their family members safe.

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

The registered manager assessed the safety of people’s home. Where a need was identified, people were referred to other organisations to ensure they had the equipment in place to keep them safe. For example, grab rails in bathrooms and corridors.

The environment was also assessed to support staff safety, including consideration of safe parking areas during care calls.

The provider made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. They worked together well to provide safe care that met people’s individual needs.

Relatives told us staff arrived when expected and stayed for the agreed time. One relative told us, “If anything they’ll go over as [Name] gets on with them really well and tries to keep them a bit longer.”

The service employed the registered manager and a care co-ordinator who both delivered care to people in their homes. Any gaps in call schedules were covered by 2 known staff through an agreement with another domiciliary care provider. The registered manager had recently recruited 2 new members of staff to work on flexible contracts. They told us this would provide them with capacity to take on more care packages and provide cover for annual leave or sickness. Staff told us they had enough time to provide the support outlined in people’s care plans.

New staff received an induction which included mandatory training. The registered manager ensured any staff not directly employed by Ultimate Homecare Ltd had the skills, knowledge and experience to provide safe care.

The provider had processes to ensure all safe recruitment checks had been completed prior to staff starting with the service. Recruitment checks included staff identity checks, references and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. However, records needed to evidence any minor discrepancies between employment dates and references had been explored and verified.

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.

Through their induction staff were taught about infection control and the risks associated with poor infection control practices. Personal protective equipment was available to staff and relatives confirmed staff followed good hygiene practices.

Staff were advised to protect themselves against viruses and encouraged to participate in any vaccination programmes available.

The provider made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences.

The provider had a range of policies and procedures to ensure the safe management of medicines. These included processes for the management of covert medication, controlled drugs and ‘as required’ medicines. We were unable to assess the effectiveness of safe management procedures as no medicines were being administered to people at the time of our inspection.

The registered manager was able to describe the process for the safe management of medicines in the community. They told us only staff who had been trained and assessed as competent in safe medicines management could support people with their medicines. This was confirmed by staff we spoke with.

Where people managed their medicines independently or with the support of family members, their prescribed medicines were recorded in their care plans. This ensured information about people’s medicines could be shared with other services in an emergency.