Venus Healthcare

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

Safe - this means we looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment, the rating has remained good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

However, the provider was previously in breach of regulations in relation to how they assessed and managed risk. This was because people were not always kept safe from avoidable harm as the potential risks they might face were not always properly assessed and managed.

Improvements were found at this assessment and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service scored 84 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service had a strong proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and complete honesty. They actively listened to concerns about safety and thoroughly investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were always learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

People using the service and their relatives were encouraged and supported to raise safety concerns with managers and staff. Managers and staff understood the importance of reporting safety concerns and learning lessons when things went wrong. A member of staff told us, “There is a focus on continuous improvement at the service to ensure the best outcomes for those we support.” Another member of staff added, “We have a weekly incident review meeting where we go over incidents and work on strategies to improve care and prevent similar situations in the future.”

Systems were in place to support staff to report and record safety concerns and events when these arose. Managers investigated safety concerns and events, and used the learning from these to support staff to continually improve their practice, reduce risk and keep people safe. Robust procedures were followed to review any incidents and accidents that took place. Incidents were reviewed on a daily basis by the Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) team and another member of the management team. This information was then used to develop positive behavioural support management plans to prevent or safely deescalate incidents which required staff to intervene using positive behavioural support techniques.

In addition, managers carried out regular reflective practice sessions with staff following the occurrence of any incidents or accidents. This included regular debriefs immediately and weeks after the occurrence of such an event. This ensured incidents were always fully discussed with the wider team and where appropriate the relevant external health and social care professionals and lessons learnt to prevent similar incidents reoccurring.

The service always worked with people and healthcare partners to design, establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was always well managed and monitored. They made sure there was always continuity of care, including when people moved between different services.

The provider ensured people who had recently moved home from locations also managed by this provider received continuity of care from the same core team of staff who have transferred with these individuals. This ensured staff remained familiar with the needs, preferences and daily routines of the individuals they continued to support in their new self-contained flats.

The provider continued to ensure information was obtained from people, and others involved in their care, about people’s individual needs and risks to their safety. This was used to develop individualised care and risk management plans to ensure people received safe and appropriate care and support from the moment they started to use this supported living service.

The provider ensured continuity of care for individuals who had recently moved from another area into their new self-contained supported living accommodation near the provider's offices. This continuity was achieved by having the same core team of staff transfer with the individuals they had previously supported.

The provider worked with people and external health and social care partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that. Staff concentrated on improving people’s lives while protecting their right to live in safety, free from bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect. The provider shared concerns quickly and appropriately.

People looked at ease and comfortable interacting with staff when we visited them at home in their self-contained flats. One person told us they felt safe living there. The atmosphere remained pleasant and relaxed throughout our visit.

Managers and staff understood how to safeguard people. They knew how to recognise and report abuse and were able to articulate how they would spot signs if people were at risk of abuse or harm. A member of staff told us, “If abuse is suspected, we record the details clearly and factually, report them to our manager, and they escalate the concern to the local council or safeguarding authorities if necessary.” Another member of staff added, “Safeguarding is keeping people safe, I know I must contact our managers and report such incidents straight away.”

Managers worked proactively with relevant external health and social care professionals and agencies, when a concern was raised, and took appropriate action to safeguard people from further risk, when this was required. An external care professional told us, ”We are aware that a few adult concerns have been brought to our attention regarding this provider, which were addressed promptly. The provider correctly followed safeguarding processes and the risk people faced was safely managed.”

The service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. The service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Staff understood people’s capacity to make decisions about the care and support they received. Managers and staff had received up to date safeguarding, mental capacity and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) training. A member of staff told us, “We ensure that people can consent to their care and treatment by always seeking their verbal consent when they are able to provide it.”

The service always worked well with people to fully understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. They provided care that fully met people’s needs and was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them.

The provider had made improvements since our last inspection and was no longer in breach of regulations. For example, the provider had successfully used a multidisciplinary approach to significantly reduce the number of incidents involving people using the service that required staff to intervene and use positive behavioural support techniques. Behavioural risk assessments set out clearly actions staff needed to follow to prevent or safely deescalate such incidents including, early signs and triggers they needed to be aware of and look out for. The providers in-house Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) team, which included a senior area manager, team leaders and psychologists, continuously reviewed people’s risk assessments and care plans and updated them as and when required. The provider was also supported by an expert panel comprised of psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists to help them prevent and manage identified risk. This ensured there was a full and comprehensive oversight into how risk to people were managed.

Overall, staff ensured potential risks people might face were prevented or well-managed, so that people remained safe when taking part in activities and events of their choice, at home and in the wider community. When people were at home we saw people moved freely around their self-contained flats and spent their time as they wished, with no unnecessary restrictions. Staff remained present and were always available in case people required their assistance. A member of staff told us, “We have risk assessments and plans in place to identify and mitigate potential risks people we support face. These risks are continuously monitored, and we adjust support as needed to keep individuals safe and promote their well-being. We also receive all the relevant training and support we need which equips us with the right knowledge to understand what might trigger distress and strategies to prevent and/or reduce them. This includes regular training in learning disability and autism awareness, positive behaviour support (PBS) and trauma.”

The service detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.

Effective arrangements were in place to monitor the safety and maintenance of people’s self-contained flats. We saw peoples flats were free from unnecessary slip or trip hazards which enabled people to move safely around their home. Safety systems and equipment were maintained and serviced at regular intervals.

There was clear guidance available to staff to enable them to safely deal with emergencies. We saw personal emergency evacuation plans were in place to help staff evacuate people in the event of a fire and staff routinely participated in evacuation drills of the premises. Managers and staff were aware of their fire safety roles and responsibilities. One member of staff told us, “We are well-prepared for emergencies such as fires. We have a fire marshal on each shift, every service user has a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan, and each supported living lodge has a Fire Emergency Evacuation Plan in place for staff to follow.”

The service made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. They worked together well to provide safe care that met people’s individual needs.

Each person using the service had a dedicated core team of staff to support them. This ensured people received continuity of personal care and support from the same group of suitably experienced and trained care staff who were familiar with their individual needs, preferences and daily routines. Staffing levels matched the staff daily duty rota for each person we met on the day of our site visit. Staff were visibly present when we visited people at home and were quick to respond to people’s questions and requests for support. A member of staff told us, “We have enough staff working for each core team to meet the needs of the one person they’ve been assigned to support. Each core teams staff duty rota is regularly reviewed by the team leaders and managers to ensure staffing levels remain sufficient to continue meeting each person’s needs and to keep them safe.”

Staff were well-trained to meet people’s needs, in line with their choices and preferences and were encouraged to continually improve in their role. Staff received a mixture of e-learning and in-person practical and theoretical training, which was routinely refreshed as frequently as staff required it including, competency-based assessments. A member of staff told us, “We are well-trained, and the training system is effective, which helps us provide people high-quality care. All the training is always relevant. This includes, learning and autism awareness, positive behavioural support, trauma-informed care, Oliver McGowan PMVA (Prevention and Management of Violence and Aggression), and safe management of medicines training, which are all regular refreshed to ensure our knowledge and skills remain up to date.”

Staff had ongoing opportunities to reflect on their working practices and to identify any further training, learning or support they might need. Staff had regular individual and group meetings with their fellow peers and line managers. A member of staff told us, “We have regular weekly and monthly group meetings with our team leaders and managers, and one-to-one supervision meetings with our managers every six weeks, where we can all discuss our work and support needs. These meetings help us maintain high standards of care and to continuously develop professionally.”

The provider continued to operate safe recruitment practices and only suitable staff were employed to work at the care home.

The provider assessed and managed the risk of infection. They detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly. People were supported to live in a clean, hygienic environment.

Peoples flats which were kept clean and free from offensive odours. Staff had access to resources and equipment to help them reduce infection risks and wore appropriate personal protective equipment [PPE] when they supported them with any personal care. Staff had received relevant infection control and food hygiene training, which meant they knew the processes to follow to minimise the risk and spread of infection. Staff had regular daily and night-time cleaning duties they were each responsible for. Staff maintained cleaning and food safety records to provide a clear audit trail of measures taken to reduce infection risks. Managers also conducted regular monitoring spot checks to quality assure staffs infection control and cleaning standards. The provider’s infection prevention and control policy was current and reflected national guidance.

The provider made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences.

The providers medicines systems were well-organised. Medicines stocks, balances and records showed people consistently received their medicines safely, as prescribed. A relative told us, “The providers systems for managing medicines are impressively robust.” Care plans included detailed guidance for staff about how people needed and preferred their medicines to be administered. Peoples prescribed medicines were safely stored away in locked cabinets securely fixed to a wall in their flats. [Staff received relevant training and their competency to continue managing medicines safely was routinely assessed. Managers and staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities in relation to the safe management and administration of medicines. There were regular audits of medicines within the service. This included regular checks of staff’s working practices to ensure they remained competent to administer and manage peoples prescribed medicines safely. A member of staff told us, “We ensure people receive their medicines as prescribed by assigning a specific staff member as the medication lead for each shift. We also conduct regular medicines counts and Medication Administration Record chart checks in addition to weekly medicines audits.”