CEL Homecare Teesside

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. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. This included reviewing accidents and incidents to see if changes could be made to keep people safe.

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 service worked effectively with healthcare partners to safely manage people who were starting to use the service, including assessing and planning for people’s care needs.

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. Staff received safeguarding training and told us they would immediately address any concerns they had. One member of staff said, “I feel confident that concerns would be taken seriously and addressed appropriately.” People’s consent was obtained before care was provided. Where people lacked capacity to consent systems were in place to make decisions in their best interest by those with the legal authority to do so and in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act.

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. Risks to people were assessed and plans put in place to reduce the chances of them occurring, and these were regularly reviewed. A relative told us, “[Named person] is in safe hands.”

The provider 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 carried out, and systems were in place to maintain staff safety when they worked alone in the community.

The provider did not always make sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff. People and relatives told us they had not always received support from consistent staff teams, and that staff had not always arrived on time. One person said, “Timings are all over the place”. This issue had been identified by the provider, who was taking steps to improve both punctuality and the consistency of staff teams. These included having named members of staff attending calls and increasing office staffing so any issues with call times could be quickly communicated to people and relatives.

Staff received support with regular training, supervision and appraisal and spoke positively about this. One member of staff told us, “Overall, I feel supported, and the training provided has been helpful in carrying out my role effectively.”

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 received training in infection prevention and control and had access to suitable personal protective equipment. People and relatives confirmed that staff wore gloves, maintained hygiene standards and cleaned up after care tasks.

The provider made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. Staff involved people in planning, including when changes happened. Staff receive training in medicines management, and medicine administration was clearly documented in care records. A relative told us, “I leave the medication out for them; there’s never been any problems with this”.