Personal Touch Care Services 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.

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.

Staff were trained and skilled to provide safe care. Regular handovers and staff meetings ensured knowledge and experiences were shared. Staff understood how to raise concerns or incidents and accidents. The registered manager said, “So far we have had no complaints, we do regular audits and use them to highlight any areas of learning.” The provider evidenced learning from incidents. The registered manager spoke of an incident where a person had fallen in the street. The provider allocated 2 carers to support the person whilst they waited for an ambulance and communication between the service and family was frequent. The service acted quickly and efficiently, yet time was taken to review the incident for learning purposes.

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 explained how the service worked with healthcare professionals to ensure safe and effective care. A professional said, “I found one of their senior staff [registered manager], to be very effective and an excellent communicator during a difficult time.” Records showed the service had good working relationships with health and social care professionals. This included GP’s, care agencies and district nurses to ensure that information was available when moving between services to ensure a smooth transition process.

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.

The registered manager ensured any safety concerns were raised with the local authority safeguarding team and the CQC. The provider had safeguarding and whistleblowing policies in place, and staff had regular safeguarding training. Staff spoke confidently of feeling able to raise any concerns with management. A staff member said, “Following incidents or safeguarding concerns, management shares lesson learned with us and we all involved in putting in place where required, any improvements to prevent recurrence”.

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 encouraged to remain active and continue to live their lives in the way they chose. Risk assessments were in place in accordance with people’s needs and goals. A staff member said, “Management notify and discuss with me about new clients and get more detailed information about them through completed assessments, care plans and handovers. This helps me to understand their needs and preferences.” The registered manager explained how they would promote people’s independence whilst keeping people safe. People expressed that they felt safe and supported with care staff to manage their own risks. The provider had consistent carers who had worked for the service enabling the service to promote continuity of care. The service was able to know people’s risks and abilities and promoted independence.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.

Staff told us that they felt safe completing their duties in people’s homes. People told us that staff respected their environment. People’s homes were risk assessed and staff were aware of potential environmental risks. A staff member said, “I have completed fire safety training, and I am confident about how to undertake emergency procedures.” People told us that staff treated their home and property with respect and took care of any equipment they used to support them. Feedback from people did not raise any concerns about cleanliness and people spoke positively of the support staff provided.

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 were supported by enough staff to meet their needs. People told us that staff attended their calls as planned and if there were issues, they were told. Training was up to date, with both online and practical sessions. A person said, “I can honestly say every carer is amazing.”

Recruitment records showed staff were recruited safely. This included appropriate checks being made before staff started, for example, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and previous employment references. Where a staff member had remained employed by the service for some time, DBS checks were renewed.

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 undertaken training in infection prevention and control. A staff member said, “Personal protective equipment (PPE) is always available to us by the management and staff follow infection control procedures appropriately.” The registered manager echoed this and stated, “We supply PPE, gloves, aprons and masks in client’s home, all staff need to be trained, we check toilets, wash bathrooms and we complete spot checks.” People told us that staff wore personal protective equipment appropriately, and there was guidance in the care plans of when this was needed. Regular spot checks were also completed by management to ensure compliance with this. There were policies and procedures in place and staff demonstrated good knowledge of these. People reported no concerns with staff and felt safe with their carers.

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.

People were happy with the way staff supported them with medicines. Staff understood how to manage people’s medicines safely. They had appropriate training and were regularly observed to ensure their practice remained safe. A staff member told us, “I support people with medication according to care plans, Medication Administration Record (MAR) charts, and company procedures.” The provider had an up-to-date policy in place with clear guidance for staff. The registered manager spoke clearly of how they managed medication queries and the use of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, including knowledge of controlled and time specific medicines.

Electronic medicine administration records were accurately completed via an electronic application. These were inputted into the system by carers, clearly and were easy to read. Medication audits were completed by the registered manager and refresher training were completed on a regular basis to reduce the risk of medication errors. Regular competency checks were also completed by the registered manager.