Carers Direct Homecare 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 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 appropriate systems, policies and processes in place to capture and record accidents and incidents. The registered manager told us, “We have maintained a learning log of all incidents, near-misses, and concerns, which is regularly reviewed at management level to identify trends, patterns, and areas for development. This ensures that our organisation remains a learning-driven with a commitment to continuous improvement and outstanding care delivery.”

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored. Initial assessments contained detailed information that enabled care plans and risk assessments to be developed and shared as appropriate. This ensured continuity of care and support for people. Records showed healthcare professionals were involved in people’s care in a timely manner and their guidance was followed.

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 had raised safeguarding concerns appropriately and had worked with the local authority to investigate these to ensure people were being safeguarded.  Most staff understood how to recognise the signs of abuse and could describe the actions they would take to safeguard people including informing other agencies if they were concerned about action being taken.

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. Risk assessments were in place with suitable actions to minimise the risk to people. Records showed staff followed the assessments to keep people safe. One staff member told us, “Some people use a mobility aid, hoist, zimmer frame or rotunda. The office staff show us how to use equipment and you can go back anytime if you are unsure, and they will show you again.”

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. The provider identified and assessed risks in people’s homes to ensure their safety and the safety of the care staff.Records included environmental risk assessments describing risks to people's home environment and considered solutions to reduce risks such as additional equipment. The registered manager told us “Our staff understand their responsibilities, and we continuously collaborate with families, health professionals, housing teams, fire services, key safe repair specialists, continence and respiratory teams, and equipment suppliers to keep people safe and maintain their independence at home.”

The provider made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. The provider had processes in place to ensure all staff received an extensive induction and staff we spoke to confirmed this. People told us they received their care and support in a timely manner. One person told us, “I couldn’t ask for anything more, they [carers] are nice and jolly and always on time. I have a regular bunch and I’m very happy with them.” Appropriate checks were in place before staff started work including providing work histories, references and a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. DBS provide information including details about convictions and cautions held on the Police National Computer. The information helps employers make safer recruitment decisions.However, some staff recruitment files had unexplained gaps in their employment history record. The registered manager informed us they are currently in the process of reviewing all staff files to ensure the information is accurate.

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 infection prevention and control policies and procedures in place. Staff had undertaken infection prevention and control training and were provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) which could be collected from the office. One staff member told us, “There’s always loads of PPE, you just go to the office to collect it once a month, there’s big boxes of it.”

Medicines were mostly managed safely. However, we found some recording concerns. Staff completed medicines administration records; we found where people required medication before or after food it was not recorded whether this had happened therefore, we could not be assured people had been given their medication as prescribed. Staff training and competencies were assessed prior to administering medicines to people and medicines errors and/or learning events were thoroughly investigated, and discussed in meetings with staff members. People and their relatives told us they received support appropriately with their medications. One relative said, “They [carers] pay attention to my relative’s medication and there has not been any problems with that.”