Bright Care Horsham

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 service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

This service scored 78 (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. Following a medicine error, the registered manager ensured medical advice was sought and arranged additional checks and training for staff. The registered manager was open and honest with the person affected and put measures in place to reduce recurrence. Incidents were logged to enable any trends or patterns to be identified. Incidents were responded to appropriately and lessons learned were shared with the staffing team.

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. The registered manager undertook pre-service assessments with people prior to them being supported, this involved over the phone discussions and subsequent visits to people’s homes or the hospital if needed. They liaised with healthcare professionals to ensure people received a continuity of care. A person told us, “[Registered manager] visited me before it (the service) started and asked all questions about me.”

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 told us they felt safe with staff, comments included, “I feel very safe with all of it.” Staff understood their responsibility to report concerns within the service and to external agencies if needed. A staff member said, “I will follow the polices of the company to report the concern. First, I will immediately report to the manager and if needed, I will contact the local safeguarding authorities of the council.”

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. People were supported to manage risks associated with their health and equipment they required. Care plans detailed how staff should support people with equipment to move and position. For example, hoists and stand aids. Risks were identified for people who lived with various health conditions, for example Multiple Sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. Care plans reflected how these conditions affected the person individually and guided staff to how to ensure people were as involved as possible to manage their own risks. We identified some areas of risk management were not as detailed as others. For example, diabetes management. The registered manager acted on our feedback and reviewed the care plans during our assessment.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. The registered manager and staff identified where improvements could be made to people’s homes to promote their safety. Where assessments highlighted some potential safety concerns, these were acted on. The registered manager identified where a person was at risk of fire, with permission, they arranged for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service to provide advice and smoke detectors for their home.

The provider made sure there were always enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received thorough support, supervision and strong development opportunities. They worked together well to provide safe care that met people’s individual needs. Staff recruitment was value-based as the registered manager employed staff with the right ethics. People told us there were enough staff to meet their needs. A person commented, “The [staff] are never late, they come at [time], and again in the afternoon. I know when they are coming.” A staff member said, “I always have plenty of time to support people, nothing is rushed for either party and it means that I have a meaningful visit with the clients whom I visit.”

Staff were offered an exceptional training package. The head office was based in Scotland with a dedicated training academy. Staff attended the academy for a week to complete practical training, staff completed further training and shadowed experienced members of staff for as long as needed. The registered manager assessed staff competencies before they were permitted to work alone. Trainers from the academy held local refresher training sessions for staff to attend. Staff told us the training opportunities were excellent. Comments included, “I have always felt that Bright Care training has been first class. I trained with Bright Care having not been in the care sector before. It was an extremely in depth week which lay the foundations for me to then gather experience. Refresher courses and e-learning have been on going. Any other training that I have asked for has been available to me.” A person commented, “I have the same carers, they are excellent, that’s the thing I like about Bright Care, they choose and train their carers very well.” Bright Care's commitment to exceptional training meant people received consistently positive outcomes in their care.

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. People told us staff were respectful to their environment and supported them to keep their homes clean. Staff received infection prevention and control training and had access to personal protective equipment (PPE). Consideration was given to people’s preferences and health conditions and staff were aware to wear additional PPE to support some people at their request. A person told us, “They tidy up well, they do my housework which is fabulous. It’s really lovely.”

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 registered manager undertook audits to ensure staff administered medicines in line with national guidance and the prescriber’s instructions. Although this had not been an issue, the electronic care planning system was set up to flag where medicine administration had not been completed which allowed the registered manager full oversight. The registered manager told us that people who were supported with medicines would be prioritised in the unlikely event of staff shortages.