Helping Hands Accrington

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

People received a good standard of care and their needs were met safely. Risks were assessed, mitigated and reviewed regularly. Staff had the right knowledge, skills and experience to do their jobs and managed people's medicines safely. People were protected from the risk of abuse due to effective safeguarding processes and the risk of mistakes being repeated was minimised. Staff followed safe infection control processes and wore PPE where appropriate.

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.

People did not provide any specific feedback in this area although noted that any issues were responded to in a timely manner. There was an incident reporting process and staff knew what to do to make sure incidents were responded to.

Staff documented any accidents, incidents, or other issues and concerns on specific forms. These were sent to managers via an electronic system and managers responded accordingly to take necessary action. Managers monitored incidents regularly to identify any themes or trends and made changes where required. This meant the risk of mistakes being repeated was minimised.

There was an appropriate incident reporting policy in place which staff could access. The service followed the process in the event of accidents or incidents.

People did not provide us with any specific feedback, however no concerns were highlighted in this area and the service was committed to making sure transitions of care were managed well.

Managers conducted pre-admission assessments to make sure that staff and the service could meet people's needs safely and effectively. Managers made referrals to other health agencies and shared up to date information to make sure any transitions were organised well.

Partners gave positive feedback in this area and confirmed there was an effective flow of information to enable consistent care.

Information was shared as appropriate with other agencies to make sure care was joined up, co-ordinated and flexible.

People were kept safe from the risk of abuse and told us they felt safe when in receipt of care.

Staff completed safeguarding training and knew what to do if they had any concerns.

There was an appropriate safeguarding policy and staff knew how to access this. The managers worked with the local authority to report any concerns.

Risks to people were minimised due to robust governance procedures. People were involved in planning their care and reviews of the service.

Staff told us they used risk assessments to support people's care. Staff reported any changes to people's health and well-being immediately to the manager, and care plans were reviewed and updated regularly.

There was an effective process to make sure risks were identified, mitigated and managed.

People said they had the right equipment to keep them safe and staff advocated on their behalf with other professionals and services. Managers assessed environmental risks to help make sure people were kept safe.

Staff said they received training about how to use equipment, such as moving and handling equipment safely. They knew how to report any issues and took action when needed.

Managers completed environmental risk assessments and made sure environments were safe for both people and staff.

People said their care was delivered by small and consistent teams of staff which meant they got to know staff well, and staff had good knowledge about people's needs, likes and dislikes. People said staff had good knowledge and skills and seemed to have the right level of training.

Staff said they received effective inductions and training to do their jobs well. Staff said rotas were managed well, they had enough time to get to their care calls and were able to stay the right length of time

Staff were recruited using safe processes. Managers made the necessary safety checks and made sure there were enough staff to meet people's needs.

People said they observed staff washing their hands and wearing PPE. Staff cleaned surfaces and made sure the environment was clean and tidy.

Staff confirmed they followed hand hygiene procedures and had a good supply of PPE.

There were appropriate policies and procedures to manage infection prevention and control. Managers conducted 'spot checks' during home visit to check whether staff followed guidelines.

People said that staff supported them to take their medicines safely. Some people chose to manage their own medicines or their relatives supported them to do so.

Staff completed training in medicines management and managers checked their competencies during performance monitoring visits.

There were appropriate medicines policies and managers completed medicine audits to check whether any changes or improvements were required to maintain safe practice.