Stag Support Services

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 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 were vigilant about ensuring each incident was recorded. Every incident was reviewed by the registered manager and used to support regular discussions with staff so that improvements were made.

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.

Robust arrangements were in place so that care was discussed and planned with the involvement of young people, their relatives and professionals. The provider drafted individual support plans following multi-disciplinary meetings and then discussed these plans with relatives to allow further discussions and consideration before care was delivered. One relative said, “I was so anxious about it (moving to another agency) and they have just been fantastic. Not only did they help with the transition for [name of person] they helped me transition. I just I can't thank them enough.”

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 a robust system in place to ensure appropriate notifications were recorded, tracked and monitored. Staff received regular training about safeguarding and were encouraged and felt able to freely discuss any 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.

Relatives told us they felt staff knew people very well and individual risks were creatively mitigated against to provide and support young people’s independence whilst maintaining their safety. For example, one young person experienced distress if staff were unavoidably delayed by traffic, to minimise this staff and their parents had agreed a system to ensure this was mitigated. This meant the young person did not become distressed and led to their full enjoyment of support when staff arrived. The provider had developed a suite of comprehensive risk assessments for locations that the service visited regularly. This provided staff with a baseline from which to assess individual risks to the young people.

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 had set up a ‘task force’ of staff who were responsible for ensuring all equipment was fit for use. Equipment was monitored and regular checks took place.

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 members received regular mandatory training. They were also supported to complete qualification levels 2 and 3 in social care, and all staff had recently enrolled on, and embraced, a level 4 qualification. The nominated individual told us, “It’s re-energised staff and will develop their talents.” The service also ensured staff have formal supervisions, where work-life balance is discussed, as well as formal observation sessions. The provider checked, and where appropriate trained staff if a new young person they were planning to support had needs staff had not previously received training about.

A staff member told us, “The support and training we have received is of a high standard. It’s all training beneficial and relevant to the job.”

Robust recruitment and checks on potential staff took place.

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.

Young people’s individual support plans contained details about how staff should ensure appropriate infection prevention and control for each person. Staff told us they had good access to stocks of PPE. Regular checks took place to ensure this.

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.

Staff received robust training and competency checks to ensure they were safe to administer medicines. Medicines were accurately recorded and audits ensured medicines were administered as prescribed.