Lindsay House

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

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.

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 systems and processes in place to learn from incidents and accidents, this included people, those close to them, external professionals and staff.

One professional told us, “[The provider] always welcomes feedback good or bad and takes learning from anything constructive and applies it accordingly.”

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 provider had systems in place to support smooth and safe transitions when people needed to use other service, including emergency services. Staff had good knowledge of the processes in place and external professionals told us the provider was always quick to refer people to them, when there needed to be joined up working.

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.

Safeguarding incidents or events were responded to in a timely manner and the provider worked well with external agencies, ensuring relevant information was shared. Actions were taken to safeguard people and mitigate risks as far as reasonably possible.

Safeguarding policies were clear and informative. Staff had good knowledge in this area, and people told us they felt safe, and were comfortable to speak to staff and leaders if they had any safety concerns.

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 thoroughly assessed, mitigated and managed. Risk documentation gave staff and external professionals clear direction on how to support people around risks.

The provider encouraged positive risk taking, so people could achieve their goals, and staff were knowledgeable on the importance of this.

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

People were responsible for their own bedrooms, and where their choices could pose a risk to other people using the service, the provider worked with them to understand the impact this could have and take steps to maintain a safe environment.

The provider had good oversight over the environment and health and safety aspects. The provider did not own the building, so were not accountable for repairs, but they had systems in place to ensure that any concerns with the building were escalated in a timely manner to the responsible agency.

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.

Staff were recruited safely, and there was a structured induction procedure that included spending time in the service with people, training and reading policies and procedures, to enable staff to fully understand their role.

Hours were provided as the service was commissioned, and we found that some months, the provider supplied additional hours, when there was a need.

Staff continued to receive training throughout their employment, to refresh their knowledge and skills, and where needed, the provider would routinely assess their competency to complete specific tasks, such as medication administration.

People told us that they liked the staff, and external professionals speak highly of the dedication staff had to people using the service.

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 service was clean and tidy, and there were systems and processes in place to maintain cleanliness and environmental hygiene within communal areas.

People were encouraged to take responsibility of their own bedrooms, however, the provider supported people in this aspect where it was needed.

There was ample provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and staff were knowledgeable on how and when to use PPE.

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.

We found that overall, medicines were managed safely. There was a minor issue identified that had no impact on people using the service and did not pose any risk. The provider was quick to take action when this was highlighted to them and strengthen oversight in this area.

Audits were completed regularly by managers and practices around ordering, storage and administration were safe.

Policies and procedures were easy to read and follow and provided adequate guidance and information for staff.

This assessment took place during a heatwave. The provider was having issues maintaining the correct temperature for storage of some medicines but took prompt and appropriate action to address this.