Midway Supported Services Worcestershire

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 the registered manager and provider investigated and reported any incidents or concerns. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

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 homes.

We looked at how a person had been supported to transition from another service. We found assessments and care plans were detailed and time had been taken to ensure the person was given all the support they needed to adjust to their new surroundings and care. The registered manager and staff were actively exploring with the person new opportunities and offering support to adjusting to their new service.

The provider worked with people and health and social care services to understand what being safe meant to them. The provider had comprehensive systems to ensure any safeguarding concerns were robustly investigated and actions taken to keep people safe. Staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from abuse and harm. The provider shared concerns quickly and appropriately.

People told us they felt safe, one person said, "I feel very safe. They (staff) help me a lot and I feel happy."

Staff had training and awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and understood the principles around capacity, best interests and choice.

The provider worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. Staff encouraged people to have fulfilled lives by working with them to maximise the opportunities for new experiences. One person told us how they had enjoyed holidays and getting to choose where they would like to go. Another person talked about going to music concerts with staff and how much they had enjoyed this experience.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. People were supported to access maintenance services to keep their home environments in good order.

The provider took their responsibilities to fire safety seriously and people had up to date Personal Emergency and Evacuation Plans (PEEPS) which contained information about people's requirements to evacuate in the case of an emergency. Staff had training in fire safety.

The provider made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff. Staff told us they received effective support, training and supervision. Where people required 1:1 care the registered manager worked with people to identify the most effective use of staff support. For one person this had meant tailoring the times of their support to match what they wanted and to use any additional support effectively in their day to day care and support. There were systems in place to ensure new staff had the right checks and references to ensure they were suitable to support people safely.

The provider took effective steps to ensure areas were clean and hygienic and had measures in place to protect people from the risk of infection. There were comprehensive infection control and prevention policies in place.

The provider had comprehensive policies and procedures around managing medication, and staff responsible for administering medicines had received training. However, we observed some staff signing to indicate medicines had been administered before they had been taken by the person. We raised this with the registered manager and provider who took action to address the issue. On our return visit they had taken steps to reinforce safe medicine practice with the staff. Overall, the provider made sure that medicine management was safe and met people’s needs, capacity and preferences. Staff involved people in planning their care and treatment, including when changes happened.