China Cottage Care Home

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 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.

This service scored 69 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. The management team listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. There was evidence of a learning culture in the care home. Accidents and incidents were recorded, analysed and reviewed to identify lessons learned which were shared with the staff team to support continuous service improvement.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored. They made sure there was continuity of care, including when people moved between different services. The service produced hospital information packs which ensured continuity of care when people transferred between services. Specialist information packs for catheter care were kept updated and maintained by visiting health professionals.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way for this to be achieved. 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. Concerns about people’s safety were reported to the local safeguarding adults team appropriately. Members of staff had accessed training and knew how to keep people safe. One person told us, “I feel safe and I am well looked after." A family member told us, “[Person] is safe because there is 24-hour care and everything is good.”

We saw evidence the provider followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) to review people’s capacity and understanding around receiving care and support. The MCA provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. The MCA requires that, as far as possible, people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. When they lack mental capacity to take particular decisions, any made on their behalf must be in their best interests and as least restrictive as possible. People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment when this is in their best interests and legally authorised under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). In care homes, and some hospitals, this is usually through MCA application procedures called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). We found the service was working within the principles of the MCA and if needed, appropriate legal authorisations were in place to deprive a person of their liberty.

The provider worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. Staff provided care to meet people’s needs which was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things which mattered to them. People’s care plans assessed and identified their care and support needs. Risks associated with people’s care were appropriately assessed and mitigations put in place which ensured care was provided safely. Where equipment was required to support people’s mobility, details of slings and loop configurations were recorded accurately and care was delivered in line with care plans.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. The environment was generally safe. We identified an issue with a plug-in radiator and the registered manager took immediate action to remove and minimise any risk. Checks of the environment and equipment were carried out in line with statutory expectations and regulations. Service and maintenance records were well organised and kept up to date.

The provider 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 which met people’s individual needs. Members of staff were deployed effectively and was saw evidence of appropriate training, support and supervision sessions. Staff were recruited safely; however, the provider had not followed its own policy to recheck disclosure and barring service (DBS) records for some members of staff within the agreed timeframes. We discussed this with the provider and immediate action was taken which mitigated the risk. These actions needed to be sustained and embedded into practice.

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. The care home was generally clean and odour-free. We did identify some minor issues in relation to cleaning of the sink used by the hairdresser. Cleaning schedules for all sinks needed to be monitored and reviewed more effectively. Members of staff had access to personal protective equipment and had received training to wear and use it appropriately.

The provider made sure medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. Staff involved people in planning, including when changes happened. People received their medicines as prescribed. Members of staff had received appropriate training and were knowledgeable about all aspects of medicines administration and record keeping. We saw protocols were in place for ‘as and when’ medication and rotation charts were in place for people’s pain patches. A relative said, "[Person] is on medication and gets it regularly."