Updated 23 February 2022
Safe – this means we looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm.
This is the first inspection for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated
good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.
Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuse
• People told us they felt safe living in their home, and they were confident to raise concerns with the staff. One person told us, “If I am upset, I can always go to the staff.” A relative told us, “II have no concerns about safety.”
• Staff had received training and were knowledgeable about the different type of abuse and how to identify if people were at risk. Staff were confident to raise concerns with both with the registered manager or with external organisations.
Assessing risk, safety monitoring and management; Learning lessons when things go wrong
• Risks to people were identified and care was planned to keep people safe. For example, care plans looked at how safe people were going out in their local community independently or if they were unable to recognise dangers and would need support.
• Incidents were recorded, reviewed and care was planned to keep people safe. When an individual had an incident, their care plan was reviewed to see if changes were needed to their care to keep them safe. For example, when a person fell their care was reviewed to see if they needed a walking aid. Incidents were also analysed over time to see if any systems in the service needed to change.
Staffing and recruitment
• There were enough staff to meet people's needs safely. The provider had processes in place to assess people’s needs and calculate how many staff were needed to care for people safely. The manager had completed this process on a monthly basis or when new people started to use the service.
• Some people had been identified as needing individual support to enable them to go out into their local community. There had been some difficulty in providing this support for one part of the service which supported three people. The provider had now recruited more staff and the support was in place again. The registered manager had been open and transparent with people and their relatives about the situation and had ensured that people were supported with activities in their home.
• Staff confirmed that the provider had followed safe recruitment processes. All the staff we spoke with confirmed they had not been allowed to start work until they had received a disclosure and baring service (DBS) check. Staff had also had to bring in their certificates of learning to validate any training they had told the provider they had received.
Using medicines safely
• There were effective systems in place to ensure medicines were safe in the service. People received their medicines in a timely manner.
• Some people needed to take medicines with them when they left the home. However, there were no systems in place to monitor which medicines had been taken. We raised this with the registered manager who took immediate action to ensure they could account for medicines at all times.
• Where people had medicines to be taken as needed for example pain relief, there were protocols in place to ensure they were administered consistently. Protocols included information on how to support people who may not be able to identify themselves when the medication was needed. One member of staff explained how they monitored people’s body language for signs of pain.
Preventing and controlling infection
• We were assured that the provider was preventing visitors from catching and spreading infections.
• We were assured that the provider was meeting shielding and social distancing rules.
• We were assured that the provider was admitting people safely to the service.
• We were assured that the provider was using PPE effectively and safely.
• We were assured that the provider was accessing testing for people using the service a