Lotus Home Care Hull

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.

Staff understood their responsibilities for reporting accidents and incidents and acted appropriately when accidents occurred in people’s homes. Oversight of incidents was provided by the registered manager, who would take action to reduce future risks. Safety events would be reviewed with the staff team to promote continued learning and improvement within the service.

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 experienced coordinated care and support when they moved between services. The service had a robust admissions process, with care plans developed alongside people and their families which were reviewed regularly. People and relatives told us staff worked well with health and social care professionals and supported safe transitions, including hospital discharges.

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.

Staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities and knew how to recognise and report concerns. The provider had systems in place to investigate safeguarding incidents, involving external agencies where appropriate and taking action to reduce ongoing risks.

People were supported appropriately under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) with appropriate best interest decisions and capacity assessments taking place when needed. People had not been deprived of their liberty or restricted in their daily lives.

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 and those important to them were involved in assessing and managing risks. Risk assessments were in place, and care plans described how identified risks should be reduced. However, some risk assessments contained information that did not reflect the person’s needs. For example, falls risk assessments instructed staff to ensure a person’s lifeline was in place when they left the property, although the person did not use or need this type of monitoring device. Risk assessments needed amending to be person specific. The registered manager accepted this feedback during the inspection and planned improvements in this area.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.Checks were in place to ensure the safety of staff when entering people’s homes. Staff would report any concerns with the environment to relevant services to help keep people safe.

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.

The registered manager monitored care calls to ensure people had support when planned. Staff received regular training to ensure they were skilled to provide care. Safe recruitment practices were in place, this included checks to ensure people were safe to work with vulnerable adults. Staff told us they worked hard to provide safe care. One staff member said, “We try as much as we can to provide safe care to clients.”

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 and relatives did not raise concerns about hygiene or cleanliness and told us staff supported them appropriately with personal care. Staff were trained in appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Policies and guidance were in place to help promote good infection and prevention practices.

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.

People received their medicines as prescribed and spoke positively about the support they received with medicines management. Systems were in place for ordering, administering and reviewing medicines, and people told us staff reminded them to take medicines or provided support in line with their assessed needs. However, some medicine records required improvement to ensure consistent and accurate recording. For example, the placement of pain patches and the administration of variable dose medicines had not always been documented appropriately. These recording issues did not indicate people were not receiving their medicines but highlighted areas where oversight could be improved. Leaders took feedback on board during the inspection and planned improvements in this area. As this was an issue identified with records and governance, we have followed this up within the well led domain.