Archived: Pioneer Wound Healing Centre - Horsham

This was the first time we rated this service. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for people using the service and keep them safe. Staff understood how to protect patients from abuse. Staff controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They did not store or prescribe medicines. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment. Managers made sure staff were competent and supported staff to develop their skills through specialist training for tissue viability, wound care and lymphoedema management. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives and supported them to make decisions about their care.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to people using the service and made it easy for people to give feedback. The patients we spoke with were happy with their care and generally felt that they had had an excellent experience using the service.
• Managers were approachable and had the skills and knowledge to ensure patients received a quality service. Staff understood the service’s vision and values and how to apply them in their work. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities, and felt respected, supported and valued. All staff were focused on the needs of patients receiving care.

However:

• Patients could not always access the service when they needed to. Some patients waited longer than the target set by the commissioners, which was 10 days for patients requiring routine wound care, and eight weeks for patients requiring routine lymphoedema treatment.
• Staff were not fully compliant with all mandatory training.
• The provider had several policies which were out of date and had no formal clinical supervision policy.
• Managers did not hold regular team meetings for all staff to share information, learning and feedback to continually improve care to patients. However, staff told us that they had daily safety meetings.