Safe Hands Care & Support Services

At the time of this assessment, 74 people were receiving support from the service. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

We carried out this comprehensive assessment in response to concerns raised by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) about the leadership and care of the provider’s children service. Ofsted inspects and regulates children services for education, training, and care in England. During this assessment we found the concerns raised around the provider’s children service had not impacted this service and the provider worked closely with system partners to ensure the service delivered good care.

People’s needs were assessed prior to them receiving a service. Information of care needs assessed by the local authority prior to people joining the service and information from people and their relatives was used to inform people’s care plans and risk assessments.

People were protected from the risks of abuse and staff were trusted to keep them safe. Staff had received training in how to safeguard people. Staff we spoke with were confident to report concerns and satisfied that action would be taken to investigate them.

The service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Staff received training in the MCA. Staff understood consent, the principles of decision-making, mental capacity and deprivation of people's liberty.

Recruitment checks were robust to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. Staff had the necessary safety checks in place before starting work and completed a full induction. Staff received regular training and competency checks to ensure they were skilled to carry out care tasks.

Staff received regular training and competency checks to ensure they were skilled to carry out care tasks. Staff had to undertake training before they could administer medicines and received competency checks to ensure they administered medicines safely.

People received tailored support that was centred around their assessed needs, choices and decisions. The provider had a robust approach to monitoring the effectiveness of people’s care and treatment, and action was taken to continuously improve it.

The provider always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

The provider had good links with external professionals and requested their support as required. The service supported people to access external health and medical care services as and when required. Staff were aware of the people’s health care needs and how to respond to any health care emergencies.

People and relatives were encouraged to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people and relatives in decisions about their care.

People were supported with their end of life care appropriately. Systems were in place to ensure end of life support was provided working alongside community professionals.

The provider and the wider management team demonstrated a positive, compassionate and listening culture. Staff spoke positively about the support they received and the culture of the service. Staff told us they felt the leadership team had the necessary skills, experience and knowledge to support them effectively in their roles.

Governance systems were in place to monitor the standard of care people received. The provider had robust auditing systems in place and an internal auditing team to monitor the effectiveness of the service and drive improvements.