First 2 Care Service Ltd

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• 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

As part of this assessment, we looked at 3 quality statements for the key question of safe. These were, safeguarding, involving people to manage risks and safe and effective staffing. People told us they felt safe, and their care was delivered safely. People's risk of experiencing avoidable harm were reduced by the provider's risk assessments and risk management plans. There were enough skilled and competent staff to ensure they could safely support people staff were recruited safely.

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. A relative said, “I feel that my [family member] is very safe when the carers come to help them with their care.” Another relative commented, “A couple of weeks ago [family member] was unwell and the carers noticed this straight away without me even mentioning it. That is very reassuring for me.”

Staff knew how to take action to minimise the risks of avoidable harm to people. One staff member commented, “The safeguarding polices are available to read at the office and I was given a copy when I first started. I completed my safeguarding training before I started working. I would report missed medication, missed care calls, physical and sexual abuse, financial abuse, and self-neglect. I would report any concerns to the care coordinator or the manager.” Another member of staff told us, “I received the training at the start of my employment and on-going discussions are held throughout staff meetings and 1 to 1 meetings.”

The provider had systems and processes to respond and manage any safeguarding incidents and concerns and they followed local safeguarding protocols when required. Staff had received training to protect people from avoidable harm. They understood how to report any concerns if they needed to by following safeguarding or whistleblowing procedures. The registered manager understood their responsibility to report safeguarding concerns.

Staff were aware of people’s risk assessments and felt they could confidently support people safely. One staff member told us, "Risk assessments must be carried out by competent staff before starting a care package. The risk assessment is to protect both the service user and staff from any harm and to minimise risk as much as possible."

Risks were assessed, monitored, and well managed. Care plans and risks assessments were in place and had been reviewed regularly or when there were changes needed to people's care. For example, risk assessments were in place regarding people's specific needs around their mobility needs.

People were protected against the risk of avoidable harm. A relative told us, “The carers have all been trained in the use of the hoist so that is reassuring if I happen to go out when they come. I know [family member] is 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.

Staff expressed satisfaction regarding staffing levels. One staff member told us, "The rota is always covered and if there is any need for cover, we are always given the option to cover calls. Staff stay the same unless calls have to be covered because of holidays or sickness.” Another member of staff commented, “The staffing levels are sufficient, and my workload is manageable.”

We saw that an ongoing schedule of training was in place, to ensure staff kept up to date with good practice. New staff went through an induction period, which included shadowing more experienced staff to get to know people, as well as covering the basic training subjects. Staff rota's showed that sufficient numbers of staff were consistently deployed to fully meet people’s needs. The provider's 'on-call' system enabled staff to contact senior staff out of hours and at weekends to obtain advice and direction to meet people's needs safely. The provider followed robust recruitment procedures to ensure people were protected from staff that may not be fit to support them. The registered manager told us they tried to match people with similar characters, interests, age ranges and skills set.

There were sufficient staff to keep people safe. A relative commented, “We have a lovely set of girls who really seem to care. Due to [family members] condition it is important that they have carers they know to reduce their anxiety. I’m grateful for that.”

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.