Blossom Home Care Poole

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.

The service 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. People were supported by a service who constantly sought to share learning and improvement. People were involved in their care. The service worked with people following an accident or incident to prevent a recurrence. The manager told us they supported learning across the service; this had included reviewing events to identify any themes and trends.

The service 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. People and their relatives told us they felt staff communicated when required with external professionals, such as the GP. Relationships between the service and external professionals were established and operating effectively, feedback collected during the inspection was positive. There were safe systems to share essential information with the necessary health and social care professionals. The service had produced a summary of people’s needs and requirements, this meant a safe transition between services, such as, for admission to hospital. A staff member said, “We work alongside GPs or pharmacists as well as ambulance crew to make sure people get the best care.”

The service 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. The service shared concerns quickly and appropriately. Staff knew how to ensure people were protected from harm and abuse. They told us how they would raise concerns both within the service and externally. Staff were confident the manager would follow up any concerns and make the necessary referrals to the local authority as required. A staff member said, “If I have concerns about people my first immediate contact would be my line manager or supervisor, if I needed to go outside the service I would go to the police, CQC or safeguarding, depending on the concern.” Another staff member said, “Concerns are listened to and acted on.”

The service worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. They provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them. People told us staff worked to keep them safe and understood their needs. Relatives agreed, they had confidence and peace of mind. Staff knew people well and told us they had enough information regarding people’s individual risks. People’s risks were assessed before they started to use the service and updated as needed. Risk assessments were created and maintained; they were accessible to staff. A staff member said, “I feel I have enough information through care plans and risk assessments. For example, one person I support has reduced mobility and is at high risk of falls. To transfer safely, their profiling bed needs to be raised to the correct height to support with sit to stand transfers. Following the person centred moving and handling guidance reduces the risk of injury to both the people and staff. I also monitor for any changes in mobility and report concerns if needed.”

The service detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. Environmental risk assessments were in place for people’s care and support, they were reviewed and updated as needed. This included the location of emergency shut offs in people’s homes. Staff had received training on using equipment correctly, for example, equipment used to help people move around their home. Assessments were comprehensive and included actions staff needed to take to support people to safely evacuate their property in an emergency.

The service 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 were supported by staff who had been through a robust recruitment and selection process. The service’s vision was clear, and the values of staff underpinned the process. People told us they were happy with the staff who visited them. The service had a thorough induction and shadowing programme, together with ongoing support. Recruitment processes were in place; staff were recruited safely. Procedures were in place to ensure the required checks were completed prior to staff commencing their employment. This included enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for adults. DBS checks provide information including details about convictions and cautions held on the police national computer. The information helps employers make safer recruitment decisions. Support was ongoing and there was a schedule of supervisions and spot checks, records showed the conversations were 2-way and detailed. Staff felt appreciated and supported by the manager and the provider.

The service assessed and managed the risk of infection. They detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly. People were protected from avoidable infections as staff were trained and worked in safe hygienic ways. Infection prevention and control systems were in place. Staff had access to the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) as needed and supplies were available to them. Policies and procedures were robust regarding preventing the spread of infection. Training records showed staff had received training and ongoing monitoring for infection prevention and control. A person told us, “The staff are always wearing their gloves and aprons, they change these throughout my visit.” A staff member said, “I carry enough PPE with me, and I can pop into the office as needed to collect more. People have been supplied with a box of gloves and aprons, in case a staff member runs out.”

The service made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. They involved people in planning, including when changes happened. People received their medicines as prescribed. There were safe procedures in place for the ordering and administration of medicines. Care plans correctly reflected the level of support a person required with their medicines. People were confident they received their medicines on time and records reflected this. Medicines records were held on an electronic system, this meant they were updated as changes were made. Alerts from the system informed the manager if a medicine was late, or not given, action was then taken to support the compliance with medicines. Regular audits and checks were undertaken to identify any patterns or concerns. Staff received training, both theory and practical together with competency checks to ensure safe practices with medicines.