Ambercare (North west) 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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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.

The provider had systems in place review and investigate accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns. Staff managed accidents and incidents safely; first aid support was provided where needed, medical support and advice was sought, and management were kept updated. Systems were in place for recording and analysing any trends and implemented changes in response to any lessons learned.

Staff reported an open culture where they were encouraged to report all concerns. They told us,“[Manager]” will always action concerns or if they couldn’t, they will find out how to” and “If I had any concerns, I would inform the office straight away, they [managers] deal with such situations promptly.”

People and their families told us they could raise concerns about their care and knew who to speak to. They told us, “I would ring or email them [managers] if I had any concerns” and “I know how to [raise concerns].”

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.

People’s needs were assessed prior to them receiving a service. New referrals were assessed face to face to ensure people’s needs could be met. Processes were in place to ensure people received continuity of care, for example, when being transferred to hospital.

Staff were positive about the communication within the service and reported good relationships with local health and social care professionals. One professional told us, “I am in regular telephone contact with the manager and I do not have any concerns regarding the care provision they provide. I have always found them to be open and honest. When issues have arose they have always tried to rectify these and they report and liaise with our team as and when required.”

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.

The provider had systems in place review and investigate accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns. Staff managed accidents and incidents safely; first aid support was provided where needed, medical support and advice was sought, and management were kept updated. Systems were in place for recording and analysing any trends and implemented changes in response to any lessons learned.

Staff reported an open culture where they were encouraged to report all concerns. They told us,“[Manager]” will always action concerns or if they couldn’t, they will find out how to” and “If I had any concerns, I would inform the office straight away, they [managers] deal with such situations promptly.”

People and their families told us they could raise concerns about their care and knew who to speak to. They told us, “I would ring or email them [managers] if I had any concerns” and “I know how to [raise 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’s needs were assessed prior to them receiving a service. Care plans provided guidance for staff to ensure people received safe and responsive care and support. Risks were assessed and mitigated to keep people safe. Risk assessments were person centred and regularly reviewed.

People and relatives were involved in care planning. This was reviewed regularly or when people’s needs changed. A person told us, “I am involved in my care planning and care reviews, I have no issues.” A relatives added, “Yes, I am involved in the care planning, they [staff] come to the house and we go through it all.”

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.

The provider had systems in place review and investigate accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns. Staff managed accidents and incidents safely; first aid support was provided where needed, medical support and advice was sought, and management were kept updated. Systems were in place for recording and analysing any trends and implemented changes in response to any lessons learned.

Staff reported an open culture where they were encouraged to report all concerns. They told us,“[Manager]” will always action concerns or if they couldn’t, they will find out how to” and “If I had any concerns, I would inform the office straight away, they [managers] deal with such situations promptly.”

People and their families told us they could raise concerns about their care and knew who to speak to. They told us, “I would ring or email them [managers] if I had any concerns” and “I know how to [raise concerns].”

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.

Recruitment checks were robust to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. Staff had the necessary safety checks in place before starting work and completed a full induction. A staff member commented, “I had an induction [when I first started], it was really good, I also did some shadow shifts [observing experienced member of staff].”

Staff had regular training and opportunities for supervision [one to one support sessions with their line manager]. Staff told us, “Supervisions are conducted regularly, typically every 3 months” and “I receive supervisions every 3 months and an appraisal every 12 months.”

The provider had systems in place to monitor staffing levels and ensure people received their visits. An electronic system was used to determine staffing levels, issue staff rotas and deploy staff to people’s care visits. Staff told us, “I am always on the same rota covering visits for the same clients”, “My rota is always covered when I am off sick or on leave” and “I have enough travel time [between people’s care visits], and I never have to rush.”

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 told us personal protective equipment (PPE) was readily available to them. Staff told us, “We have more than enough access to PPE” and “I can access PPE from the office at any time.”

People and relatives told us staff members wore PPE during when providing support and care. Comments included, “They [staff] wear uniform, aprons and gloves” and “They [staff wear the right PPE.”

Medicines were managed safely.People received their medicines as prescribed and medication administration records [MARs] were completed daily. A person told us, “[I have my medication when needed] the carers are good at that [administering medicines]” and “They [staff] apply my [prescribed] creams when I need it.”

Staff were trained to administer medicines. Staff had to undertake training before they could administer medicines and received competency checks to ensure they administered medicines safely. One staff member told us, “Care co-ordinators do spot checks as well as medication competency checks. We are required to have regular medication training even if we are already trained and competent.”

The service prompted 3 people with their medicines. Although this level of support was recorded and MARs for each person was completed daily, we found the MARs lacked details about what medicines people were being prompted with. During the inspection, the provider updated their processes around prompting medicines and updated the 3 people’s MARs to contain more details about their medicines.