Northway 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

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.

At the last inspection we found a breach of Regulation 12 because medicines were not always safely managed. At this inspection we found improvements had been made.

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. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

There was a new manager at the home who was committed to learning from incidents and accidents and ensuring ongoing improvements. Learning was shared with staff through individual supervisions and team meetings. Minutes of a staff meeting showed learning from a safeguarding concern had been identified and discussed with staff to make sure 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.

Staff worked with other professionals to ensure people received the care and support they required to meet their individual needs.

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 had received training in abuse and safeguarding and knew how to recognise and report any concerns. All staff were confident that any issues raised would be fully investigated. One member of staff told us, “If I saw anything I would report. I would definitely be listened to.” One visiting relative said, “I have no worries when I leave. Absolutely in safe hands.”

The manager had applied for people to be legally deprived of their liberty where they required this level of protection to keep them safe.

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 completed for individuals to make sure they were able to receive safe care and support. Care plans contained information about how risks could be minimised. This included specialist equipment to support people with mobility and minimise the risk of damage to people’s skin. One person’s risk assessment had resulted in them having a specific cup to promote their independence and choice.

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

Records showed that appropriate checks were carried out to maintain the safety of the building. This included in house checks and servicing by outside contractors for gas safety, fire detecting equipment and water temperature and quality.

The provider was in the process of refurbishing the home and garden to make sure it provided a safe and pleasant environment for people to live in.

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 new manager had reviewed and increased staffing levels at the home to make sure people always had access to staff when they needed them. Staff spoken with thought there were adequate staff. One member of staff said, “There is always enough staff. If someone phones in sick, we have bank staff we can call.”

Records showed staff were safely recruited and appropriate checks were carried out. This helped to ensure only suitable staff were employed which minimised risks to people.

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.

All areas of the home were clean and fresh. Staff had access to personal protective equipment and used it appropriately. One person said, “It’s absolutely clean all the time."

People’s medicines records showed that they received their medicines in the way prescribed for them, including creams and external preparations.

Improvements had been made to the way medicines were managed in the home. Further improvements were ongoing but not yet completed.

If medicines were prescribed to be taken ‘when required’ there were protocols to guide staff when these might be needed, but these needed improving to provide more person-specific information. However, staff were knowledgeable about people’s medicines needs. When medicines were applied in patch form, records did not always show where these were applied, to ensure suitable rotation of the site. We were told this would be addressed.

Risk assessments were in place for some high-risk medicines such as anticoagulant blood thinning medicines. However, they were not in place for paraffin-containing emollients for some people at higher risk. The manager told us these would be put in place.

There were suitable arrangements for storage and disposal, including items needing to be kept refrigerated and those needing extra security. Storage temperatures were monitored to ensure medicines would be safe and effective.

Staff had training and competency checks to make sure they gave medicines safely. Regular medicines checks and audits took place, and these helped identify some issues and areas for improvement. However, some of the areas we found for improvement had not been identified in these audits.

People were happy with how they were supported with their medicines. One person told us, “You don’t have to worry about tablets. Always get them at the right time."