Homecare With Caring Angels 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 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.

Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

There had been no incidents, therefore the provider was unable to demonstrate how lessons were being learnt in the service. However, the registered manager was able to tell us the action they would take. The told us if an incident occurred, they would complete an investigation, review the persons care and look at if anything could have been done differently. They said they would discuss this with staff in the meeting and make sure the person was happy with the outcome.

At inspection we identified some concerns with the systems that were in place to monitor the service. The registered manager told us they had used our inspection as a learning process. After the site visit the registered manager sent us a reflection on our inspection, which identified what could be completed differently in the future.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored.

The registered manager told us the processes that were followed when people started using the service. They told us they would go out to people and complete face to face assessments. They said they would then create care plans and risk assessments based on these needs.

We saw this process had been followed and people had been assessed before they started using the service.

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

All people felt safe being supported by staff. One person said, “I do feel safe with them, and they are well trained.” A relative told us, “Oh yes he definitely feels safe with his carers.”

We saw there were systems in place to ensure safeguarding concerns were identified, reviewed and investigated. Staff told us they had received safeguarding training, and we reviewed certificates for staff which showed us this. Staff were able to tell us the action they would take if they were concerned about a person.

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.

People were happy with how their risks were managed. One person told us, “They hoist me and there are always 2 of them and they wait for each other and never start before each other arrives”.

There was a system in place to ensure people had care plans and risk assessments that were reflective of their current needs. These plans considered people’s mobility needs, health conditions and any known risks they may have. These were reviewed regularly with people or those that were important to them or when changes had occurred.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment.

There were processes in place to ensure environmental risks in people’s homes and external environments had been considered. We saw people had individual risk assessments in place that related to their environment. Staff told us they were aware of risks they face in people’s homes.

The provider had systems in place to ensure there were enough staff available to support people.

All people and relatives we spoke with felt there were enough staff, and that staff had the skills and training to look after them well. One person said, “They come on time and stay as long as required”. A relative told us, “They have never missed a visit, and they come on time and stay the time needed”.

Staff and people were allocated their rotas in advance so they knew who they would be supporting. There were systems in place to ensure there were enough staff available to support people at the right times.

Staff had received training to ensure they had the relevant knowledge and skills to support people. This included training that was relevant to people’s individual needs. The registered manager was in the process on adding staff training into a matrix so this could be monitored.

Staff had received the relevant pre-employment checks before they started working with people to ensure they were safe to do so.

The provider assessed and managed the risk of infection.

People and relatives raised no concerns with infection control, and people told us staff wore Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). One person said, “They wear PPE when needed.”

Staff confirmed they had enough PPE available, and they had received training in this area. There were processes in place to ensure staff protected people from the risk of cross infection.

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

People and relatives raised no concerns with how their medicines were managed. A relative said, “They give him his meds at the proper times and that is recorded on their app. He has one of those blister packs.”

People received their medicines when needed. When people had ‘as required’ medicines there was guidance in place for staff to follow, however improvements were needed to ensure these contained more detail. Staff told us and we saw they had received training before they could administer medicines to people.