Safehands Services Ltd

Updated 7 July 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection and we sought feedback from the local authority. We also used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and eight relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, the deputy manager and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data.

Updated 7 July 2022

About the service

Safehands Services Ltd (Safehands) is a domiciliary care service that provides care and support for people in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 22 people with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People received the care they needed to keep them safe and well. Feedback about the quality of the care and support was good. People were supported by consistent and caring staff. Medicines were managed safely. Some staff did not follow safe infection prevention and control practices, inclusive of not wearing correct personal protective equipment (PPE). However, this was identified by the service during spot checks prior to inspection and was being managed effectively.

Staff knew people well and supported them based on their needs, choices and preferences. They were knowledgeable about people and the topics we asked them about. Staff had received a high level of training which was reviewed regularly. Staff spoke very positively about the support they received and the quality of the service.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Care plans were detailed and up to date and contained person centred information.

The service promoted high quality, person centred care and had an open and honest culture. Audits and checks were in place to monitor the quality of the service. The registered manager was approachable and supportive and provided strong leadership to the team.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 24 May 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.