Wiltshire Support At Home Service

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. Incidents and accidents were recorded and reviewed by managers to ensure action to reduce the risk of a repeated incident were taken. Learning from incidents was shared with all staff to ensure they understood any changes to the way they needed to support people.

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 told us systems worked well when they started using the service, with good communication, for example when they came out of hospital. People’s health conditions were documented, and they were supported to access services from a range of professionals. The provider worked as part of a multi-disciplinary team to ensure information was shared appropriately with other professionals. Assessments completed when people started using the service ensured there was detailed information about services they were using, to ensure their support was maintained.

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. People and relatives said they felt safe when staff visited them. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities and said they completed regular safeguarding training. Staff were confident managers would take appropriate action if they reported safeguarding concerns but were aware how to raise these concerns outside of the organisation if they needed to.

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 relatives told us they felt safe when receiving care. Risks to people’s health, safety and welfare had been assessed and plans developed to manage those risks. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the risks people faced and how to support them safely. Staff told us risk management plans were regularly reviewed and updated, alongside people, as their needs changed. Staff had immediate access to updated plans through the electronic support planning system and were notified of any changes.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. Staff completed assessments of people’s environment and took action to ensure people remained safe. The provider made referrals to other agencies where relevant, for example the fire service, housing providers and food banks.

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. People told us they felt staff had the right skills and knowledge to meet their needs. Required pre-employment checks had been completed for staff before starting work. New staff received an induction, including opportunity to shadow experienced staff until they were confident. Staff told us they had realistic work schedules and received regular training, supervision and an annual appraisal.

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 told us staff followed good infection control practice when providing care. Staff had completed infection prevention and control training and told us they had access to all the protective equipment they needed.

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 told us staff provided good support for them to take their medicines. Staff had completed training in the safe management of medicines and managers regularly observed them to ensure they were supporting people safely. Staff kept accurate records of the medicines people had been supported to take. People were supported to check their medicines when they came out of hospital and staff worked with people’s GP and pharmacist where needed to ensure they had the medicines they were prescribed available.