Blue Arrow Care Limited

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

The provider acted appropriately to minimise the risk of abuse and took the required action in response to concerns. People told us they felt safe using the service and in the presence of their care workers. Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding procedures as well as the signs to look out for if they suspected abuse was happening. They received sufficient training and the registered manager ensured they had the support they needed to take action if needed. The provider was experiencing some problems with ensuring there were enough staff on shift to support people and that systems supported them to do so. The provider was taking action to address these issues by recruiting additional staff and updating their electronic call monitoring system. The provider had safe recruitment processes in place and ensured staff received enough training, supervisions, appraisals and spot checks to conduct their work.

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.

We did not look at Learning culture during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Safe systems, pathways and transitions during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

People told us they felt safe using the service. Their comments included “I couldn’t be in better hands. I feel very safe and comfortable” and “I definitely feel safe with all of them- there are no issues there.”

Staff had a good understanding about how to prevent abuse from happening. They demonstrated a good understanding about the different types of abuse and signs of abuse and confirmed they knew what to do if they suspected abuse was happening. Staff told us they had reported safeguarding concerns in the past and they were involved in the process and kept updated by the registered manager about the investigation process and any further actions that were taking place to make sure people were safe. One care worker told us the registered manager supported them throughout the process. The registered manager expressed a clear understanding of the importance of keeping people safe and was committed to supporting staff throughout the safeguarding process. She ensured all staff received face to face and online safeguarding training on an annual basis and staff confirmed this happened. The registered manager had a clear understanding of what actions to take in the event of a safeguarding concern and gave us examples of where she had followed this process in the past.

The provider had clear systems in place to support people and staff to report safeguarding concerns in a timely manner. We saw there was a clear safeguarding policy and procedure in place which stipulated what actions needed to be taken in the event of a safeguarding concern. Records showed allegations of abuse were reported both to the local authority and the CQC and timely investigations were conducted. Records indicated that the Registered Manager liaised with relevant agencies to ensure they were aware of what actions had been taken to protect people.

We did not look at Involving people to manage risks during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Safe environments during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

People told us staff usually arrived on time and they were usually seen by the same care workers. People’s comments included “They’re very consistent. There are no issues with timings or with them turning up. They stay the full length of the call- maybe even longer”, “They’re on time and stay the full length of the call. The only issue is when someone calls in sick, so I’ll get someone new, but that can’t be helped” and “The only slight niggle is that they can be late, but sometimes that can’t be helped. They will call when this is going to happen though.” People gave excellent feedback about their care workers and praised their abilities. One person described their care worker as “very knowledgeable- a very clever man and knows exactly what he’s doing.”

Staff were well supported through a programme of induction, training and supervision. One staff member told us “We’ve done a lot of training and we’ve done the Care Certificate as well. We do specific training too”. Staff told us they received regular supervisions and spot checks. Staff who had been working for over a year also confirmed they had received an appraisal. All staff told us they felt very well- supported by the registered manager. All staff gave specific examples of the individual support they had received according to their specific needs. This included adjustments to their rota as well as counselling sessions as needed. One staff member described her relationships with colleagues and management as being like a “family”. Staff said their rotas were generally manageable, but the workload could be heavy in the event of staff sickness. One staff member told us “Rotas can be heavy, but that is not always the fault of management- we get a lot of sickness… they are doing the best they can with the staff they have.” The registered manager spoke about the importance of ensuring her staff were happy and felt this directly correlated into good care. She told us “If I make sure my staff are happy, they’ll make sure people are happy and that’s what we all want”.

The provider experienced issues in ensuring there were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. Managers used an electronic call monitoring system to monitor and review the timeliness of scheduled care calls, however, the registered manager confirmed there were some issues with the accuracy of the system. As a result, the provider was in the process of implementing a new system as well as additional measures to ensure the timeliness of care calls. The provider was also experiencing staffing issues, particularly as a result of staff sickness. To address this issue, the registered manager confirmed they were recruiting additional staff to ease pressures on existing staff members. The provider was operating safe recruitment practices at the time of our inspection. The registered manager acknowledged that in the past, they had made errors in failing to ensure they had two references from applicant’s most recent employers. However, since these errors were brought to their attention, they were carrying out more robust checks. At the time of our inspection we found appropriate checks were being made on staff that applied to work at the service to make sure they were suitable to support people. This included obtaining a full career history, two recent references, DBS and right to work checks. The provider ensured staff received a programme of regular training in various subjects including safeguarding and infection control. Additional training was also provided depending on people’s individual needs. The provider monitored staff training to ensure their knowledge was up to date. Staff received regular supervision, spot checks and appraisals and the provider monitored the completion of these to ensure they were happening. We reviewed supervision, spot check and appraisal forms and saw relevant questions were being asked to ensure staff had the appropriate knowledge and support where needed.

We did not look at Infection prevention and control during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Medicines optimisation during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.