Braemar Lodge Residential 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 that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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 registered manager shared safety concerns with staff, identified themes and worked with staff to learn from these and mitigate risks. People told us they felt safe at the service and felt listened to. One person told us they had requested for a lock on their bedroom door and that the maintenance person was arranging to fit this for them.

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 registered manager completed an assessment of people’s care needs before they came to live at the service. The registered manager ensured they had all the information they needed from other health professionals and made prompt referrals when needed for continuity of care. For example, people were registered with the local GP to access prompt reviews. Where people were living at the service for respite care or whilst a permanent placement was sought, the registered manager worked with social workers, physiotherapists and an occupational therapist to facilitate their transition. A relative told us, “The staff have done wonders with helping them to mobilise with a frame.” The provider told us how they have been supporting 2 people to transition to more independent living and have been working closely with their social workers and healthcare team to facilitate this.

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. The provider had policies in place to raise safeguarding concerns and to support staff with ‘whistle blowing’. Staff had received training in how to safeguard people and were confident in how they would raise concerns. One member of staff said, “People need to be protected especially if they do not have capacity. I would raise any concerns with my immediate supervisor and let them know the situation. If I needed to go outside of the service, I could raise concerns with the council or CQC.”

People told us they felt safe living at the service. A relative told us, “Staff have been very understanding of safeguarding concerns and keep my relative safe.” The registered manager and provider had raised safeguarding concerns appropriately and worked with the local authority to keep people safe.

The provider worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. Staff provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them. Risks were managed safely and mitigated against at the service. People had individual risk assessments in place to meet their needs. We saw the approach to risk was person centred and involved people in their care and support needs. Peoples’ independence was supported, and any risks were mitigated against.

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 registered manager completed regular checks of the environment and equipment to ensure they remained safe. Where equipment needed replacing this was updated by the provider. The deputy manager told us they had new commodes and profiling beds for people to use. The environment had been updated with new flooring and safety features had been added to the building. The provider told us they had a continual improvement plan in place to update the service. There was a maintenance person employed who completed day to day improvements and repairs and was responsible for monitoring fire safety checks at the service.People were supported to personalise their bedrooms and have their own belongings and items important to them.

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 that met people’s individual needs. People and their relatives were complimentary of the staff and the support they received. One person said, “The staff are very professional, they have looked after me perfectly. A relative said, “The staff are genuinely lovely.”

Staff were employed after the appropriate recruitment checks had been made including receiving references and a disclosure and barring check (DBS). DBS provide information including details about convictions and cautions held on the Police National Computer. The information helps employers make safer recruitment decisions.

Staff told us they had a full induction when they commenced work and underwent training to equip them with the skills, they needed to support people. The registered manager and provider held regular meetings with staff to discuss the running of the service and facilitated group supervision to embed training. Staff told us they felt supported and worked well together as a team.

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 provider had an infection control policy, and procedures in place to manage infections. The registered manager completed regular infection prevention control (IPC) audits to minimise the risk of infections or contaminations of the environment and equipment. Staff received training in IPC practices and personal protection equipment (PPE) was made available for staff to use appropriately.

The provider made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. People were supported to take their medicines safely by staff who had received training to do so. The registered manager had systems in place to check medicines were being supported safely, this included completing audits and checking staffs’ competency. Staff monitored the effectiveness of medicines and when needed the GP was involved in reviewing medicines for people.