Support Health and Wellbeing 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 inspection of this service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

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. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. When accidents and incidents occurred, staff took appropriate action including seeking medical attention. The registered manager had a process in place to review incidents that occurred to identify any trends, patterns and lessons learnt and to share with staff to reduce risks to people.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored. Information was collected about people’s needs before they started to use the service, to ensure their needs could be met. However, information such as a hospital ‘passport’ containing standardised information about people’s care and support needs was not available for all people to ensure they received a continuity of care when either visiting another service or when they were discharged from the service. This was addressed immediately by the registered manager.

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. Peoples’ comments included, “I trust the staff” and “They are very good staff, [Name] feels very safe with them.” Staff and leaders had received training in safeguarding adults and understood their responsibilities in reporting safeguarding concerns to the appropriate agencies. A staff member commented, “If I had any concerns I would raise it with my line manager, they are very responsive.”

The registered manager had completed risk assessments for people and had put some measures in place to mitigate those risks. However, not all risks to people had been identified and assessed. Care plans required more detail of the measures staff were to follow to keep people safe, including how to respond when people became distressed. This included guidance for staff about triggers and signs and how to de-escalate and reassure a person if they became upset. We discussed this with the registered manager who told us it would be addressed. Staff provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them. A relative commented, “[Name] looks forward to staff visits, their mobility has improved.”

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. Risks associated with people’s individual environments were assessed before staff started supporting people within their homes. A relative commented, “Equipment wise [Name] uses walking aids, stair lift and a seat in the shower, I am more than happy that carers keep [Name] safe.”

The provider made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. A staff member told us, “There is plenty of training, I get refresher training each year.” Staff worked together well to provide safe care that met people’s individual needs. However, some improvements were needed to roster management. We received mixed feedback about the timings of calls, the consistency of carers and people not knowing who was coming to their call. People and relative’s comments included, “The agency seems to be well organised, only problem is around timings and space between meals”, “Staff are not always on time, I phone them if they are late” and “Staff can be late depending on what has happened beforehand with another call.” The registered manager started addressing this immediately.

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. A professional commented, “During infection prevention and control training the staff were very focussed and showed a real interest in infection prevention and control.” Staff told us they had access to the personal protective equipment (PPE) they required, and people confirmed staff wore this when required. Staff received infection control training and competency checks. A relative told us, “Hygiene is good, carers wear gloves and aprons for different tasks.”

Medicines were managed safely. Medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. There were policies and processes in place to ensure people received their medicines safely. Staff received training and competency checks to observe how they managed people’s medicines safely. A relative commented, “Medication is sent by the chemist in dosette boxes, it is all given appropriately and staff record it on [Name]’s file.”