Poole Home Care Limited Also known as Poole Home Care

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 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. People were involved in their care, this included working together when accidents happened. Systems were in place to record incidents, including falls, safeguarding concerns, and emergencies. Staff understood the importance of reporting accidents and incidents and felt confident to raise concerns. The service reviewed incidents regularly. Incidents, accidents and safety concerns could be instantly reported and recorded by the services electronic system.

The service 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 and their relatives told us they felt staff at the service communicated when required with external professionals, such as the GP. Partnership relationships were established and operating well, feedback collected during the inspection was positive. There were safe systems in place to ensure essential information was shared with the necessary health and social care professionals. The service had produced a summary of people’s needs and requirements, this meant a safe transition between services, such as, for admission to hospital.

The service worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that. They 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 service shared concerns quickly and appropriately. People told us they felt safe in the care and support of staff from Poole Home Care. A person told us, “I feel safe with Poole Home Care. The staff are well trained, know me well, have good knowledge and appeared to be trained well.” Staff knew how to ensure people were protected from harm and abuse. They told us how they would raise concerns both within the service and externally. Staff were confident the service would follow up any concerns and make the necessary referrals to the local authority as required. A staff member said, “If I had a concern I would contact the office. I always feel comfortable and confident doing so.” Another staff member said, “If I had concerns regarding our clients I would speak to management, if it was a safeguarding concern I would follow the company safeguarding procedure. Outside of Poole Home Care I would contact the GP, social workers, and the local safeguarding depending on the concern.”

The service worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. They provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them. People told us staff worked to keep them safe and understood their needs. Relatives agreed, they had confidence and peace of mind. Staff knew people well and told us they had enough information regarding people’s individual risks. People’s risks were assessed before they started to use the service and updated as needed. An example was where a person was at risk due to their mobility, staff supported the person correctly using equipment. A staff member told us, “We have access to individual care plans which have people’s risk assessments. One of my clients has reduced mobility and requires to wear specialised shoes before transferring to minimise the falls risk.”

The service 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 and considerations were in place for people’s care and support. Risk assessments were carried out by the service to ensure people and staff members were safe from hazards within the environment. This included location of emergency shut offs and what to do in the event of a fire. Staff had received training on using equipment correctly, for example, equipment used to help people move around their home.

The service 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. People were supported by staff who had been through a robust recruitment and selection process. People told us they were happy with the staff who visited them. A person said, “I am satisfied with the staff members and feel there is no need to look anywhere else. They know what needs to be done and complete this happily.” Procedures were in place to ensure the required checks were completed prior to staff commencing their employment. This included enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for adults. DBS checks provide information including details about convictions and cautions held on the police national computer. The information helps employers make safer recruitment decisions. Support for staff was ongoing and there was a schedule of supervisions and spot checks. Staff told us they were supported by the registered manager.

The service 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 access to the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) as needed and supplies were plentiful. Policies and procedures regarding preventing the spread of infection and avoidable harm were in place. People and relatives confirmed staff wore correct PPE and changed them during care visits and staff respected their homes and ensured areas were left clean after providing support.

The service made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. They involved people in planning, including when changes happened. People received their medicines as prescribed. There were safe procedures in place for ordering and administration of medicines. Care plans correctly reflected the level of support a person required with their medicines. Guidance was in place for ‘as required’ medicines and paraffin-based skin products, due to the associated increased fire risk. Safe systems were in place covering ordering, storage, administration, and disposal of medicines. Staff received appropriate training, and the service carried out audits to ensure procedures were consistently followed.