Vigilant Health Care 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. This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated 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.

Staff understood how to report, record and investigate any concerns that occurred to learn from and ensure the safety of people using the service.

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.

Staff involved people, their families and any relevant healthcare professionals in their assessment process to ensure all relevant information was gathered prior to providing a service, to ensure continuity in care delivery.

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.

People felt safe receiving care from staff and relatives trusted staff to care for their family members. Processes were in place to ensure any safety concerns were identified, recorded and reported. The provider worked with the local authority to ensure any safeguarding concerns were learned from and appropriate action was taken.

The provider worked well with people to understand and manage risks, however these risks were not always clearly documented in people’s care records. Staff provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them.

Whilst staff had a good knowledge of the risks to people’s safety, we found at times this was not clearly documented in people’s care plans and risk management plans. For example, we saw mixed information regarding one person’s mobility, and it was unclear how staff were meant to support them safely. We also found for one person there was a lack of information about how to manage any risks associated with their diabetes. We discussed with the management team who told us they would ensure all staff’s knowledge would be captured in people’s care records to ensure they provided clear and comprehensive information about people’s needs.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.

Staff undertook environmental risk assessments to identify any risks within people’s homes. People were supported to understand and reduce these risks where able. Staff discussed with people what to do in the event of a fire and how they would evacuate their homes. People had the necessary equipment in place to meet their needs. Staff ensured they were in good working order and liaised with appropriate professionals if any safety concerns were identified.

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 in place to ensure suitable staff were employed. There were sufficient staff employed to meet people’s needs and people benefitted from receiving support from a consistent team of care workers. The management team closely monitored staff’s call times to ensure people received care at the correct time and staff stayed the required length of time. This included when people needed support from 2 staff to ensure they arrived at a person’s home at the same time.

New staff were required to complete an induction process which included a programme of shadowing more experienced staff. A comprehensive training programme was in place to ensure staff completed training that was considered mandatory by the provider, this included completion of the Care Certificate. The Care Certificate is a set of nationally recognised training sessions giving care workers the knowledge and skills to undertake their duties. Staff were supported through a regular programme of supervision and annual appraisal.

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 were aware of their responsibility to protect people from the risk of infection and wore personal protection equipment (PPE). Staff told us they had good access to PPE, and their management team checked it was worn appropriately during quality spot checks.

The provider made sure that medicines were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences.

People received their medicines as prescribed. Staff had completed training in safe medicines management and ensured people received their medicines. An electronic medicine administration record was in place which informed staff what medicines to give and when. They recorded on this system when medicines were given. The management team could access this information and received alerts when medicines were given or if a medicine was missed so they could ensure people received their medicines as prescribed. Body maps were in place to inform staff where to apply topical creams and instructions were in place as to when to apply these creams.