Surecare Doncaster 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 good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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. We saw evidence of individual accidents and incidents being recorded in detail and followed up to ensure people were safe and action was taken to mitigate future risks. The provider kept a falls log to ensure people who were prone to falling were monitored and had access to the support they required.  

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 had access to healthcare professionals when required. Staff responded to professional’s advice to ensure outcomes for people improved. External professionals spoke highly of the service and their willingness to share appropriate information which ensured people care and support was seamless.

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 provider had a safeguarding policy in place and staff understood how to interpret it. Staff were clear about the procedure they should follow if they were concerned about people’s welfare. One staff member said, “I'm confident the office would deal with ant abuse correctly but if not, I would report to CQC.” Safeguarding concerns were taken seriously and acted on swiftly. This included liaising with other professionals to ensure people received the right support.

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 associated with people's care were identified and managed to keep people safe. People had risk assessments in place which had a rating depending on the severity of the risk and gave clear instruction of actions to take to mitigate each risk. People were supported by staff who knew them well and people told us they felt safe in their care. One person said, “I feel very safe, the carers are lovely.”

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 completed to ensure the care environment was safe and fire safety had been reviewed. The provider recorded service dates for any equipment used. This ensure staff and people were safe.

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 robust recruitment procedure to ensure staff recruited were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Staff received a thorough induction when they commenced their role and completed shadow shifts with experienced staff. Staff told us they felt supported by the management team and received one to one sessions to discuss their practice. One staff member said, “I receive spot checks regularly also supervision every 3 months and a yearly appraisal.” We saw the provider maintained a training record and kept staff up to date with refresher training as required. However, staff had not received up to date training for supporting people with a learning disability.

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. The provider had policies and procedures in place to manage the risk and spread of infections. The management team told us, “We maintain sufficient stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE), and record and audit the PPE which is issued to our care workers. Our care supervisors complete monthly spot checks in the community which includes checking that staff are correctly wearing and using PPE.” Staff told us they had easy access to PPE and were aware of good hand hygiene practices.

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. The provider had a medication management in domiciliary care policy in place.  Medication administration record (MAR) charts were in place to record medicines administered by staff. These were clear and showed medicines had been administered as prescribed. People who were supported to take their medicines had a care plan in place to instruct staff on how this should be administered.