Cleveland House 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. There was a proactive approach to learning lessons from incidents. Where there was an incident, leaders investigated what had happened and what learning could be gained from the incident. This was shared with staff in a variety of ways including on a one to one basis, team meetings and handover meetings. Leaders created a strong learning culture where all accidents and incidents were reviewed and shared with external bodies in an open and transparent way. One leader told us, “Learning is vital to make sure things are learnt from so we can avoid them happening again."

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. People received support from involved health professionals to have a joined up approach to care. Care plans and risk assessments were detailed which meant people only had to tell their story once. Staff ensured there was continuity of care to ensure hospital and health and social care staff had access to information needed. One relative told us, “The staff are very good. They get the doctor if my [relative] needs it.”

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. People were protected from the risk of abuse or neglect. Staff were trained in safeguarding and there was a clear understanding of when to raise a concern. Leaders worked in an open way and reported concerns to the Local Authority and CQC. Some people were subject to a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard and staff and leaders had a good understanding of this.. One partner organisation told us, “We have not been alerted to any (safeguarding) issues [which would prevent people moving into the service].” One person told us, “I definitely feel safe here. I am quite happy.”

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. People’s risks were actively managed to minimise harm. People and their relatives were consulted and fully involved in decisions about how to manage risks in a person centred way. Staff ensured risks people may experience were not a barrier to living an active life, where activities and events were inclusive for all to participate in. One relative told us, “My [relative] is quite safe here, yes definitely. That’s the thing I never have to worry about."

Maintenance staff were fully aware of all potential risks in the care environment and controlled them well. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. The environment was clean, tidy and free from malodours. Staff were passionate to ensure the service felt like a home and was a welcoming environment which was decorated to a high standard. Maintenance staff’s achievements had been recognised and celebrated by the provider for their devotion to the service to ensure repairs and maintenance were kept to an high standard. There was a clear maintenance schedule in place and monitoring systems to ensure checks were consistently completed to a high standard. Leaders completed their own monitoring to ensure the environment did not fall below a good standard. One member of staff told us, “[The maintenance staff member] is excellent. They really go above and beyond for this home. They recently were awarded ‘Employee of the Month’. They really deserved it.”

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. There were enough staff to meet people’s care needs. Staff were trained to a good standard and they had the skills and confidence to provide high quality care. Staff had been recruited safely with all checks completed to ensure staff were safe and competent to work with people. There was a positive working relationship with the staff team with staff passionate to ensure people received timely and high quality care. Staff told us there were always enough staffing and this did not ever fall below safe levels. One person told us, “The staff here are very good. They are very caring and I think there enough of them."

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. Staff and leaders worked to minimise the risk of infection transmission. Staff had access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and they had the skills to maintain good hand hygiene. We observed the environment to be clean throughout and staff using PPE. One leader told us, “We have done a lot of work at the home to make sure we follow infection standards.” One person told us, “Staff keep my room clean and they help me.”

The provider made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. Staff involved people in planning, including when changes happened. Medication was administered safely. Senior care staff and nursing staff administered medication and they were trained and skilled. Leaders did spot checks and competency checks to ensure medication was safely administered. Where incidents had occurred, leaders were proactive in learning from this and ensured all staff had the skills to provide safe medication administration practices. Staff knew people well, such as when to give “as and when required” (PRN) medication and leaders were proactive in ensuring PRN protocols were detailed and reflective of people’s needs. One person told us, “Staff sort all my medication for me. I totally trust the staff to get it right."