Care Just 4U

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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

Staff worked within a positive culture of safety where concerns were identified, reported, investigated and lessons were learned. Staff felt confident to raise concerns and systems were in place to ensure this happened. People had experienced delays when receiving their care from an inconsistent team of staff. This however improved significantly during this assessment and people confirmed this had changed. There were sufficient numbers of staff available to provide care safely who had received adequate training, induction and ongoing supervision of their performance. However, some training had elapsed and some training at a higher level was required.

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. One person said, “I feel safe. They [staff] are all so kind and gentle, never once have I worried that I would not be cared for. I’d like them to be with me all day and night long, that’s how safe I feel with them.” A second person said, “I feel very safe, it’s like they are caring for family.” People told us they felt confident that staff would raise any concerns where they may not be safe, and said they felt able to speak up if they were concerned about anything. People confirmed that staff supported them in a safe manner and were confident and capable when using equipment such as hoists.

Staff we spoke with demonstrated a good understanding of safeguarding adults from abuse and how to keep people safe. Staff were aware of the different signs of abuse and explained the system they used to report any concerns or incidents to the management team. One staff member said, “I have not had to raise a safeguarding concern. But I know that I would say to my manager if someone was being hurt. I know if I reported something under safeguarding the office would tell the social services and they would keep the client safe with us.” Staff felt confident in reporting concerns anonymously using the organisations whistleblowing policy. One staff member said, “Whistleblowing is where I tell the managers, CQC or social services if a staff member is hurting or upsetting a client, or working in an unsafe way.” The registered manager demonstrated a good understanding of their responsibilities to keep people safe from abuse as well as the procedure they would follow if concerns were raised.

The provider had a clear safeguarding policy and procedure in place which set out the sequence of actions to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse. Systems were in place to monitor incidents, accidents, injuries and safeguarding concerns. Analysis of these allowed the registered manager to identify emerging themes and trends and take proactive action to mitigate future risks to people’s safety. Staff received training in safeguarding adults alongside understanding mental capacity and deprivation of liberty to ensure people’s rights were upheld where they may not be able to make certain decisions themselves.

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 spoke very highly of the staff that cared for them. People said they had never had missed visits but that staff had not always turned up at the agreed time or within a reasonable timeframe. Although people said this had been identified and had significantly improved. One person said, “I didn’t have the same ones, it changed a bit which could be annoying, and they came at all sorts of times. But now it is a lot better now than a while ago. Now I have the same faces who get me up for a dance and a sing song. They come along now much closer to the agreed time every day and now if they are late, they will phone.” A second person said, “Since a few weeks ago, staff I see are more or less the same, it’s great. The call times are better, nearer the same time every day. I know they have changed things around because the carers told me and I think its for the better really.” People said that staff had the skills and experience to provide care to them in a way that was safe and met their needs. One relative said, “[Person] is safe, the carers are professional and meet all [Persons] needs.”

Staff said they received appropriate induction and training before working with people. “We have checks done on us by the supervisors, then we have the supervision meeting which is good. I can ask for things like PPE, extra training, ask questions about things, and ask for help. The training is good, I think maybe a bit more on things like dementia, but we have our yearly training for safeguarding, MCA, medicines and things. They observe how we care, then talk to the client and see if they are happy with us. That’s good because it helps to know I am doing my job right.” Staff told us there were enough staff available to meet people’s needs and that changes had recently been made to the rota which had improved their timeliness. One staff member said, “We have enough staff, sometimes it has been difficult getting about. Harlow can be really busy, and it’s a big town., sometimes we go from one side to the other so we may turn up after the client expects. But, over the past few weeks the office has changed some of the calls and it has got a lot better. We never missed a call, but could be late, but not so much now it’s got better.”

Staff completed an initial induction and then completed mandatory training annually to meet people’s needs. Training records showed the majority of staff required refresher training in the mandatory areas. This had been identified by the registered manager who was in the process of ensuring staff completed their required learning. Although staff had training in some specific areas, for example, dementia, this was at an awareness level. This introductory training did not provide staff with sufficient knowledge to support people effectively. The registered manager acknowledged that training needed to be more relevant to the staff role and undertook to find an appropriate course. The registered manager identified through their analysis of call times that people experienced late calls. They also had a policy in place that gave staff and hour window before the call was considered late. They amended the rota to improve timeliness and ensure consistent staff supported people and removed the one hour window. This significantly improved call times, which people and staff confirmed was positive.

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.