50 Valentines Way

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 service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

This service scored 72 (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.

We saw where there had been complaints, accidents and incidents and safeguarding allegations these had been reviewed to see what learning could reduce the likelihood of re-occurrence. This was then shared with the staff team. Policies were in place to help guide practice with regard to learning from events.

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 worked with others to help ensure a smooth transition between services. The registered manager carried out an assessment of people’s needs prior to the provision of care. People and their relatives were involved in these assessments to help ensure they reflected the needs and wants of the person. Assessments covered needs including personal care, medicines, equality and diversity.

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 were in place to safeguard people from abuse. There was a safeguarding adult’s policy in place to help guide practice. The registered manager told us there had been 1 safeguarding allegation in the past 12 months. We saw this had been dealt with in line with the policy. Staff had undertaken training about safeguarding adults and understood their responsibility to report any allegations of abuse. A member of staff told us, “I’m going to report it to the head manager and write a report.”

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.

Risk assessments were in place which set out the risks people faced. These included information about how to mitigate those risks. Assessments covered risks including moving and handling, behaviours that challenged the service and accessing the community. People had been involved in developing their risk assessments and they were subject to review. This meant they were able to reflect the risks people faced as they changed over time.

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 provider took steps to help ensure the safety of the premises. They carried out their own safety checks, for example, in relation to the fire alarms and emergency lighting. Qualified persons carried out checks in line with legislation in relation to gas and electric at the premises.

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 working at the service to keep people safe. Staff told us they had enough time to carry out their duties. We observed there were enough staff during our inspection to support people safely.

The provider carried out pre-employment checks on prospective staff. These included proof of right to work in the UK, employment references and criminal records checks.

Staff received regular training and 1:1 supervision to support them in their role.

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.

Systems were in place to reduce the risk of the spread of infection. Staff wore personal protective clothing when providing support with personal care. Staff had also undertaken training about infection control. Cleaning schedules were in place to help ensure the premises were appropriately cleaned. We found the premises to be visibly clean during our inspection.

The provider did not always make sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences.

Not all medicines were stored securely. Those that were in current use were all stored securely in a designated medicine cabinet. However, there were some out of date medicines that were stored in a cabinet without a locking device inside the office. We discussed this with the registered manager, who took steps to dispose of these medicines in the immediate aftermath of our inspection.

Medicine administration records were in place which detailed the medicines people were prescribed. Staff signed these after each administration so there was a clear audit trail in place. Where people were prescribed ‘as required’ medicines, there were guidelines in place about when these should be given.