Blessing's Care received an overall rating of Requires Improvement following inspections in September and October 2023, with breaches of Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment) relating to unsafe medicines processes and inadequate behaviour support guidance, and Regulation 17 (good governance) due to ineffective quality assurance systems and untimely safeguarding notifications. The service was rated Good for responsiveness, with people receiving personalised, person-centred care, though effective and caring domains were not inspected at this visit.
Concerns (8)
criticalMedication management: “Medicines which were given as needed did not have guidance and key information available to support staff administer these safely. Reasons for administering were not always recorded.”
criticalMedication management: “Medicines were sometimes given at the wrong time. Checks did not identify this which meant the provider could not take action to investigate and rectify.”
criticalCare planning: “When people showed behaviour which indicated distress or agitation there was limited information about triggers, signs and what action staff should take to de-escalate.”
criticalGovernance: “Quality assurance systems were not always effective at supporting staff to identify and take action about areas which needed improvement.”
criticalSafeguarding: “Notifications to external agencies including the local authority and CQC about serious incidents or safeguarding concerns were not always made in a timely manner.”
moderateRecord keeping: “Recruitment checks required strengthening to ensure the reasons for any gaps or anomalies were risk assessed. There were delays with 1 staff member receiving their criminal record check, but there was no risk assessment.”
moderateSupervision / appraisal: “The system to support staff and their development was still being developed. These processes needed time to be embedded and sustained in practice for staff.”
minorIncident learning: “The provider planned to introduce monthly analyses of accidents, incidents, falls and behaviour indicating distress to assist with spotting trends and themes.”
Strengths
· People felt safe with staff and confirmed staff did not miss any care visits; staff were reliable and stayed to complete all required tasks.
· Known risks such as falls, moving and handling and skin damage were assessed and reviewed.
· People received personalised care responsive to their needs; staff knew people's care needs and how to meet them.
· Complaints were taken seriously with a complaints procedure in place; issues were resolved promptly.
· Staff used PPE appropriately during personal care and were trained in infection control.