Bloom & Care Limited

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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 were protected from avoidable harm and abuse with an emphasis on openness, transparency and learning lessons when things went wrong. People were fully involved in developing different approaches to keeping safe. This enabled them to take positive risks, to maximise control over their lives. Staff were recruited safely, and people were supported by a consistent staff team that knew them very well.

This service scored 81 (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.

Staff knew how to take action to minimise the risks of avoidable harm to people and were passionate about ensuring people were safe. One staff member commented, “Keeping people safe is our priority, and top of our agenda. I would have absolutely no hesitation in reporting anything I was concerned about. Whistle blowing is so important, and we are encouraged to speak up." Staff confirmed they had completed training in recognising and reporting abuse and all staff we spoke with were able to tell us where safeguarding policies and information was held.

Staff training records confirmed that all staff had completed safeguarding training for vulnerable adults and children. There were safeguarding policies that were accessible to staff and each staff member had a staff handbook that also contained information about safeguarding. The manager maintained a safeguarding matrix, so they had good managerial oversight of any safeguarding concerns. There was information displayed around the office with contacts of who to call if staff had any safeguarding concerns. Records showed the provider reported safeguarding incidents as required to the relevant agencies and used these to learn lessons when things went wrong.

People felt safe with the support they received. One person told us, “I feel very safe. I am safer now than I have felt in a long time.” A relative said, “My [family member] is as safe as houses. The carers are very knowledgeable and always help [family member] with their wellbeing and safety is at the heart of everything they do.”

Staff told us they were able to keep people as safe as possible, whilst also promoting their independence. One member of staff told us, "Risk assessments are a useful tool, and they help give us guidance of how to help the clients we look after and to give them the best possible care we can." Staff supported people to take positive risks to improve their quality of life and increase their independence to its maximum. For example, we saw that 1 person had been supported to travel on public transport independently, where a staff member met them at the other end of their journey. This had improved the person's confidence and self-esteem. A staff member commented, "We encourage our clients to achieve the best outcomes they can. I think we are able to inspire our clients to achieve new goals."

Risk assessments were in place to identify all the risks present within a person’s life. Each person’s assessment was personalised to them and described the support they needed to manage risks. Risk assessments addressed people's diverse needs. For example, people's specific needs around their mental health and any rehabilitation needs they may have. In all instances, these had been reviewed monthly to make sure they remained up to date and reflected changes to people's circumstances. There were policies in place in relation to risk management that were accessible to staff. All staff completed training in relation to managing risks.

People were protected against the risk of avoidable harm. One person said, "I had a tumble a little while ago. Now the carers make sure I am safe, they never rush, and they never leave until everything is in its place, so I don’t trip over. One day I was having a difficult time and the carer stayed over her time to help me."

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

There were sufficient staff to keep people safe and we received extremely positive feedback about staffing. A relative said, "The carers really understand [family member] as a person and everything they do is for [family member's] best interests. The call times always fit in with [family members] needs." People told us they had regular staff to provide their care and support which was important to them. One person said, "I have the same girls and they are like my extended family. I struck lucky finding them."

Staff expressed great satisfaction regarding staffing levels. One staff member told us, "The staffing levels are really good. There has been a couple of new staff started in the last few months, so we have been providing the training, to help us give our clients the correct care they need. I do the same round all the time, so I get to see the same clients and I have built wonderful relationships with them all." A health professional commented, "Bloom and Care provide a resilient and effective care plan for the needs of the individual client and their family, with experienced and dedicated staff who are prepared to learn and amend as the need arises. Keeping clients safe and secure in their own home for as long as possible is the best possible outcome for us all, where the person feels supported, safe and happy and Bloom and Care do this admirably."

A robust assessment of people’s needs was completed before a care package was agreed. This meant the provider was able to assess how much support a person needed and how many staff were required to provide that support safely. The assessment also identified the skill mix of staff needed to provide people’s care. Staff rotas showed that sufficient numbers of staff were consistently deployed to fully meet people’s care 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 suitable to support them. The registered manager told us they tried to match people with similar characters, interests, age ranges and skills set.

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.