Your Life (Taunton)

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 - Safe – this means we looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. At our last inspection we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

This service scored 69 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored. Systems were in place to ensure there was continuity of care, including when people moved between different services. Important information about people was kept up to date. The registered manager discussed with us the systems they had in place to communicate with other healthcare professionals.

The service worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored. Systems were in place to ensure there was continuity of care, including when people moved between different services. Important information about people was kept up to date. The registered manager discussed with us the systems they had in place to communicate with other healthcare professionals.

The service worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that. They 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 service had a system in place for sharing concerns quickly and appropriately.

Staff were receiving safeguarding and mental capacity act training and were aware of where to report any concerns and how to escalate these outside the organisation. However not all staff were confident and could clearly explain what these mean to them in practice.

The service worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. They 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 to guide staff in areas suchskin integrity, management of health appliances, moving and handling and falls. This also included the risks related to the environment. We signposted the registered manager to reviewing care documentation to ensure all identified information about some risks and measures to reduce risks was clearly and robustly recorded throughout for staff to access.

We did not look at Safe environments during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

The service 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. However, recruitment processes required some improvement to ensure the provider policy was followed and all staff were recruited safely. The registered manager explained to us how they will strengthen processes going forward based on the practice they were using in the other service they managed.

Records showed that staff were provided training suitable for their role and this was confirmed by staff. Some improvements were needed to ensure staff received the same level of training in relation to catheter care and emergency post falls lifting equipment, and that records were kept of their competencies in relation to these.

Systems were in place to provide new staff with an induction which consisted of shadowing experienced staff members, mandatory training and review of their practices and competencies. Some improvements were needed to ensure that the provider’s policy was followed before new staff could start to support people on their own.

Records showed staff were being supported through supervisions and appraisals and their competencies were checked periodically. Staff felt supported within their roles. The registered manager had plans to complete everyone’s supervision, to ensure all staff were happy and there were no concerns.

The service had developed “champion” roles which some staff took on, for example in areas such as whistleblowing and safeguarding, falls, infection control and medicines. Champions would provide additional information related to these areas to their colleagues and be a point of call if staff had any particular questions.

The service assessed and managed the risk of infection. They detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly. A person told us, “They come in and help me to have a shower, they wear gloves and aprons.”

The service made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. They involved people in planning, including when changes happened. Records showed medicines were given safely and as prescribed. Staff received medication training,and their competencies were assessed. At the time of the assessment the service was only supporting one person who was in receipt of personal care with their medicines, however we also looked at other systems the service could have in place if required to support people with their medicines safely.