Kings Care At Home

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 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 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. Accidents and incidents were recorded and staff we spoke with demonstrated they placed great importance on ensuring any action was taken to keep people safe.

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. This included using a one-page profile that contained important information about the person, their health and support needs. This was used to ensure other agencies had immediate access to the information in emergency situations.

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 using the service. Staff had a good understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities. They were confident that any concerns they raised would be dealt with promptly and appropriately.

The provider worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. This ensured staff provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them. Risks were well managed and risk assessments were person centred. There was a culture of positive risk taking that promoted people’s independence. People were fully involved in all decisions about risk.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. Risks to people and staff, within people’s homes and when accessing the community, were identified and well managed.

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 systems of recruitment were in place. Staff told us their induction was good, they were well supported, and there were sufficient staff to provide people with the care and support they needed. One staff member said, “[Registered manager] drove me round and introduced me to all the clients.” People told us they knew the staff really well and that staff were skilled at their roles. One relative said, “There’s only a small number of staff and they all seem committed to really ‘caring’ for their clients. All ours [staff] are really well trained and have the confidence to deliver.”

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 had received training in infection prevent and control. People told us hygiene practises were good. One person said, “They are always careful, especially since there seem to be some new bugs around. They wear gloves and masks whenever they’re working in direct contact.”

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. Medicines were managed and administered safely. Staff received training and competency checks in medicines administration.