Blue Coral Healthcare 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 72 (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. At the time of the assessment, no incidents or safeguarding concerns had occurred. However, the service demonstrated the actions taken from a complaint and how learning was shared amongst the team. Staff meetings were reflective of people’s needs and discussions were had around sharing concerns and sharing 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 registered manager had processes in place to support people prior to using the service, this included an assessment of people’s needs. A ‘service user guide’ was also provided to people, which contained important information on people’s rights and what they could expect from the service. People’s care plans were also in paper format within their own home; this information could be used to support hospital admissions when required.

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. People told us they felt safe when receiving care from the service. A person commented, “Yes, I feel safe when they [staff] are supporting me.” Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures and how to report any concerns effectively. Staff told us they felt confident raising issues about safety and felt these would be listened to and the appropriate action would be taken.

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. Care plans and risk assessments contained the information required for staff to be aware of people’s care needs. This included information around people’s health, mobility, and personal care needs. A staff member told us, “I follow the risk assessments provided and work with individuals to understand what matters to them. I balance safety with promoting independence. If I notice any changes or new risks, I report them immediately so the care plan can be updated."

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. People’s environments were assessed to identify any hazards. This information was reviewed on a regular basis, to ensure people and staff were kept free from harm. Staff were knowledgeable on how to report any environmental risks to ensure these were resolved in a timely manner.

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. People told us they received their care visits on time. A relative commented, “Carers do their job well and turn up on time.” We found there were sufficient staff to enable the delivery of safe and effective care. Staff were recruited safely, with appropriate pre-employment checks carried out before staff started working at the home, which included Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. Staff had received appropriate training to enable them to safely carry out their roles and staff received regular supervisions and appraisals. A staff member told us, “I feel confident in my role at Blue Coral Healthcare Ltd because of the supportive working environment provided and the training received, which makes me confident in my role. The team is friendly, efficient and supportive."

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. Staff had access to enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to allow them to carry out their role safely. Staff told us, “Yes, PPE is always provided, and I use it appropriately to protect both myself and the service user I support.” Staff had also completed training in infection prevention and control (IPC) and knew how to implement good practice within their role.

The provider did not always make sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. Although we found no harm had occurred to people, we found further improvements were required around the service’s knowledge of medicines prescribed on an ‘as and when’ required basis,and the recording and monitoring of people’s transdermal patches. However, the service were responsive to feedback and pro-active in resolving these issues found. As a result, the service has implemented new systems to ensure these types of medicines were managed safely going forwards.