SureCare Sheffield

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 people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. This is the first assessment for this newly registered 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 maintained a record of all accidents, incidents, safeguarding referrals and CQC notifications. There were processes in place to review and analyse accidents and incidents to identify learning and improvement. The provider had developed a culture of learning where accidents and incidents are investigated appropriately, and lessons learnt to improve practice.

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 provider used pre-assessment information provided by social care professionals to develop the initial care and support plan to ensure consistency. Hospital passports were put in place by the provider which ensured key information about people’s needs were shared between services to aid continuity of care and support.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way for this to be achieved. 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 about safety quickly and appropriately. The provider had clear policies and processes in place to keep people safe from the risk of harm or abuse. People told us their care was safe. One relative said, “I give SureCare Sheffield 10 out of10. They go out of their way to help and always make sure [family member] has care on time. [Family member] is very safe with them.” Members of staff confirmed they knew how to take action if they had concerns about care and support. One member of staff told us, “I have the SureCare Sheffield handbook with the safeguarding policies in. I would report suspected abuse to my manager."

The principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) were understood by the registered manager and there were processes in place to review people’s capacity in line with the MCA. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. The MCA requires that, as far as possible, people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. When they lack mental capacity to take particular decisions, any made on their behalf must be in their best interests and as least restrictive as possible. People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment when this is in their best interests and legally authorised under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). We found the service was working within the principles of the MCA.

The provider worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. Staff provided care to meet people’s needs which was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things which mattered to them. People's care plans and risk assessments were detailed and reflected their individual needs. They enabled people’s care to be delivered safely. People were happy with the care they received. One person told us, “I have been living in my own home for 29 years and this is the only care company I have been completely happy with and I have had to fight for it. SureCare Sheffield are really good.”

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. Care was provided in people’s home and where equipment was used, key information was checked and recorded to ensure it was safe to use. People’s care plans recorded their manual handling needs and specific equipment requirements. People told us members of staff used equipment safely. One person said. “They are reasonably well-trained. There are no problems with hoisting. They are all ok, particularly the new ones. If there is a new member of staff, they always come with someone experienced.” Another person told us, “No problem with training, I use a hoist and an Atlas Return and members of staff are very competent.”

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 which met people’s individual needs. Staff were recruited safely and pre-employment checks were carried out to ensure members of staff were safe to work with people. People generally had consistent teams of staff. However, in some instances linked to joined up work with community nurses, consistency of members of staff could not always be provided. The registered manager was aware of the frustration this caused some people and was working with them to achieve positive resolutions and outcomes. People told us they were happy with the care provided by their staff team. A relative said, "We have had new carers in the last 6 weeks and it is so much better and [family member] is much more settled. The new members of staff do keep [family member] safe and do lovely things like bring grapes to put on their cereal. Small things like that make a difference.”

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. The provider carried out spot checks on how personal protective equipment (PPE) was used by members of staff and how infection prevention control (IPC) practices were implemented. The provider confirmed PPE could be collected from the office and all staff were expected to ensure they have adequate PPE with them at all times.

The provider made sure medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. Members of staff involved people in planning, including when changes happened. Medicines were administered safely by appropriately trained members of staff. The management team carried out regular reviews and audits of medication processes. A member of staff confirmed they knew what to do if there was a medication error, “I would inform my manager immediately, document what happened and, if needed, ring 111 for advice." A relative told us their family member received their medication safely, “They have a lot of medication, members of staff always make sure [family member] has their tablets on time and give me a ring if there are any problems.”