Registered Office

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. This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

This service scored 75 (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. Staff listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. The provider had appropriate systems, policies and processes in place to capture and record accidents and incidents. A reflective practice approach was used at team meetings to review any specific challenges that had occurred and to identify what lessons could be learned.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored. Initial assessments contained detailed information that enabled care plans and risk assessments to be developed and shared as appropriate. This ensured continuity of care and support for people.

The provider worked with people and healthcare 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. Systems, policies and processes were in place to ensure people were safe from harm and abuse. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (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's capacity was assessed in line with MCA and decisions were made, where people did not have capacity, in their best interest.

The provider always worked well with people to fully understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. Staff ensured care met people’s needs and was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them. People's care plans were extremely detailed and risk assessments were set out clearly and explained, in detail, the potential risks to the person and to their personal assistant. There were clear instructions including diagrams and pictograms about how the potential risk should be managed and mitigated. This meant that care and support for people was delivered safely and in a way that enabled them to live their life to the fullest.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. Where people needed specific equipment in their own home this had been checked by the appropriate professional testing body to ensure it was safe and a program of continuous testing, in line with regulations, was in place. The provider had policies and processes to ensure equipment was used safely and maintained correctly to keep it safe.

The provider made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. They worked together with people to ensure care met people’s individual needs. The provider did not directly employ any care staff. They provided assistance to people so they were able to employ their own care staff. The provider supported people with the recruitment process and pre-employment checks include Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks so that people’s care teams were recruited safely. The provider assisted people to induct staff on their first day with information and support. They also provided training in spinal cord injury. Additional training needs identified by people were discussed with people’s case managers and assistance was given to either provide clinical training or work with the person to buy it in, for example, moving and handling training.

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’s care plans detailed specific risks in relation to infection and how these risks should be mitigated. The use of the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) was specified in people’s care plans. The provider had infection prevention and control policies and procedures in place.

The provider made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. People were responsible for managing their own medication through their own directly employed staff. The provider had policies, systems and processes in place to ensure that medicines were managed safely but they did not support people directly to take medicines. Care plans included the support people required to manage their medicines. This gave guidance to care teams so they could ensure people received their medicines as prescribed.