Care Angels 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.

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

Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

The registered manager spoke about how they used information to improve the service. They gave examples of how they had changed their recruitment processes from when they first initiated the service, to ensure continuous recruitment and availability of staff.

There were systems in place to ensure lessons were learnt and improvements made to the service, this included a review when incidents occurred. We saw this information was shared with staff.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored.

There were processes in place to ensure people were assessed before they started using the service. We saw people and those important to them were involved with this. Comprehensive assessments were completed as part of this process. We saw care plans and risk assessments were developed based on this assessment. Staff confirmed they were aware of people’s assessed needs.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that.

People felt safe being supported by staff. A relative when asked if they felt safe said, “Oh yes, most definitely”.

There were systems in place to ensure safeguarding concerns were identified, reviewed and investigated. Staff told us they had received training in this area and were aware what action to take if they were concerned. One staff member said, “If I am not happy or am worried, I would contact the office and ask for advice”.

Staff provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them.

People and their relatives were happy with how their risks were managed and raised no concerns. One person told us, “I have no concerns with safety and how they look after me. They know my risks very well; they know what to do to keep me safe.”

There was a system in place to ensure people had care plans and risk assessments that were reflective of their needs. These were reviewed regularly, with people or when changes had occurred.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in people’s home environments.

People had individual risk assessments in place that related to their environment. This covered, lighting, parking and if they had any pets. This information was available for staff, so they were aware of any risks that maybe present. Staff confirmed they had seen these plans and were aware of any risks.

The provider had systems in place to ensure there were enough staff available to support people.

People and relatives were happy with how their call times were staffed. A relative said, “They are fine, I have not had a problem with this”. They confirmed calls were on time and no calls had been missed.

The registered manager told us they tried to ensure support was delivered to people by a small group of staff so they could deliver consistent care to people. There were systems in place to ensure people received care at the right time, for the correct duration, by the right number of staff.

Staff had received training to ensure they had the relevant knowledge and skills to support people. Staff spoke positively about the training they received. One staff member said, “It’s very good, it has helped me a lot in my role.” People and relatives raised no concerns about the suitability of staff.

Staff had received the relevant pre-employment checks before they could start working with people to ensure they were safe to do so.

The provider assessed and managed the risk of infection.

People and relatives told us staff wore Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). One relative confirmed staff wore gloves and aprons and added, “Yes, and masks when needed”.

Staff confirmed they had enough PPE available, and they had received training in this area. We saw PPE was available for staff in the office. There were processes in place to ensure staff protected people from the risk of cross infection.

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

People were happy with how they received their medicines. One relative said, “Staff administer medication, I have no concerns with medication, staff let me know when my relation needs more medication ordering”.

People received their medicines as prescribed. When people had ‘as required’ medicines there was guidance in place for staff to follow. When people were prescribed cream, there was guidance that explained to staff what it was for and where it should be administered. Staff administering medicines had received training and their competency was checked to ensure they were safe to administer these to people.