La Petite Concierge Limited

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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

This service scored 69 (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.

During our assessment we identified 3 incidents which had not been recorded on incident forms. This meant identifying any themes or trends did not take place or a regular review of learning for the future. However, the incidents were recorded within other records and appropriate actions and investigations had taken place.

When any accidents or incidents occurred, the provider completed thorough investigations and was responsive to areas where improvements could be made.

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.

Not everyone receiving care required additional healthcare support, as they could often arrange this themselves. People told us how they would make their own healthcare appointments. However, anything which needed to be shared with the provider was added to care plans so care needs could be reviewed to reflect any changes. The management team had systems in place to effectively communicate accurate information to relevant organisations in a timely way, ensuring safe care continued with all partners involved in the people’s care, including in emergency situations.

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 we spoke with told us they felt safe with staff supporting them. Staff had completed safeguarding training. Staff we spoke with told us they knew how to identify signs of abuse and the process to report immediately. Staff were aware they could contact the police or local authority if they had any concerns about people. Staff told us the management team acted responsively to concerns and investigated them. We identified effective systems in place where management completed a very detailed investigation into any concerns.

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 involved in assessing their individual risks. People had risk assessments that had control measures to ensure safety. For example, people had risk assessments for falls, diet and medication. Care plans were person centred and had been appropriately reviewed. The registered manager and nominated individual told us how they were always improving plans and had found a recording system to meet their governance standards. People we spoke with told us they received support with specific health needs, they felt staff understood how to safely support them. Team meetings had agendas to ensure at each team meeting a specific health need would be discussed, this encouraged learning for the staff and a chance to ask any questions.

The provider did not always detect and control potential risks in the care environment. They did not always make sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.

We identified the provider had not gathered all safety certificates for all equipment. For example, where people had moving and handling equipment, such as a hoist, no Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) certificates were present. This meant no assurances were gained to ensure staff were using equipment that was safe and in good working order. The registered manager told us staff had completed training and checked the hoists before using. However, this was not recorded in any records. During this assessment the registered manager and nominated individual immediately collated testing information of all equipment which staff used.

The provider had completed risk assessments of people’s environments. People we spoke with told us they felt safe in their own environment.

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.

The provider had a comprehensive training programme to ensure all staff were trained to a high standard. This involved management completing unannounced spot checks on staff and regular competency observations. One staff member told us, “We never know when management will turn up, they stay with us for the duration of the care call and provide feedback in a one to one.” Another staff member told us, “Being new to care, the training provided has provided me the skills to ensure I am doing things right.”

There were systems in place to ensure staff performance was monitored and where required a structured disciplinary process. Staff were recruited safely. The provider completed all required checks including Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) and professional references.

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 completed infection control training.

Staff told us they had access to enough personal protective equipment (PPE). People confirmed where required staff wore PPE. One person told us, “They always ensure they have gloves and an apron on.” When management completed spot checks, this included infection control of people’s homes. Any concerns identified would be actioned to resolve.

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.

Not everyone needed support with their medicines. Staff who administered medication had completed medication training. This included competency assessment where management would observe the staff member. Management had completed additional training to allow them to assess staff competencies. The provider also had an allocated trainer. Staff were aware of what action to take in the event of medicine errors and how to report these timely and safely. The management team reviewed errors and identified any shortfalls. Any lessons learnt were shared with the staff team to minimise the risk to people.