Affinity Trust - Domiciliary Care Agency - Shipley and Airedale

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 we looked at 3 quality statements and the rating has remained 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.

We did not look at Learning culture during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Safe systems, pathways and transitions during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve this. 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 understood safeguarding procedures and had up-to-date training. One staff member told us, “We receive training.” Safeguarding concerns were recorded, investigated promptly, and notifications made to relevant authorities where required. One staff member told us, "Yes absolutely I know who to contact if I have a concern. Not anything serious, but yes we raise concerns here and they’re followed through and people are involved in this process."

People and relatives said they felt the service was safe and knew who to contact if they had concerns. One person told us they felt safe and knew exactly what to do if something wasn’t right. They said, “I would tell someone, I would tell [name of manager].” Another person told us, "If there’s an emergency and nobody is here, I know who to contact because I have all the numbers."

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.

Staff demonstrated a clear understanding of the risks associated with people’s health conditions. This included supporting people experienced seizures. Staff were aware of the specific triggers for these seizures.

Risk reduction strategies had been developed to support people to remain safe. These included avoiding bathing or showering when at home alone, not travelling alone in the dark, and carrying identification and a medic alert necklace. These measures supported the person to maintain independence while reducing identifiable risks.

Staff also supported people to attend GP reviews and manage ongoing health needs. This ensured risks continued to be monitored and that the person received appropriate support to stay well.

A person told us they felt staff supported them safely in relation to their mobility needs, saying, “I can't walk a lot. They [staff] help me, they take me out.” A family member told us they had observed staff managing risks well for their relative. They reported that staff supported the person consistently and appropriately in relation to their health needs.

People told us their choices were respected when decisions related to their daily care and routines. One person said, “If I don't want a shower, they [staff] do it the next day.”

We did not look at Safe environments during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for 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.

Safe recruitment practices were followed. This included Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks being completed before staff started work, verified references being obtained, and identification checks being carried out. These processes helped ensure that only suitable staff were employed to support people.

One person told us they felt well supported by staff and described them as helpful, saying, "Staff helped me clean, they helped me clean my [pet] out." Another person shared that staff were reliable and respectful, telling us, "Staff knock on my door and I go and answer it." A third person told us, “Staff are very good.” Staff photographs and times of visits were displayed where people required these so they knew who would be supporting them.

Staff were supported through ongoing training and supervision. Most supervisions and performance development reviews (PDRs) were either fully up to date or scheduled to take place within the next few weeks. Where staff had been absent from work, appropriate support arrangements were in place.

Where training needs were identified, these were acted upon. The service continued to progress staff attendance at the Oliver McGowan mandatory training. From 1 July 2022, all health and social care providers registered with CQC must ensure that their staff receive training in how to interact appropriately with people who have a learning disability and autistic people, at a level appropriate to their role. The provider was awaiting the next available day two, face‑to‑face training sessions, which had been delayed nationally due to a shortage of accredited trainers. Further dates had been requested to continue supporting staff to complete this training.

We did not look at Infection prevention and control during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Medicines optimisation during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.