Allingham House Care Centre

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 good. At this assessment the rating has remained as good.

This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

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. Staff listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

There was a clear process in place for recording accidents and incidents and evidence of tracking these to identify trends. We saw evidence of individual incidents being discussed and lessons learned during monthly clinical meetings and relevant action plans implemented.

Staff said they felt comfortable to raise concerns and could clearly and confidently explain the process to do this. A log documented concerns raised by residents and their families and these were discussed in resident’s meetings. Relatives were invited to these meetings and they were well attended. The minutes of the meetings were shared, and the registered manager also offered private meetings every Thursday for families to raise any concerns or discuss the well-being of their loved ones. An action plan was created following the meetings to make the necessary changes and improvements.

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.
The provider collaborated closely with partner agencies to support safe and effective discharge planning. Discharge to assess beds were made available within the home, enabling people whose acute medical treatment had been completed in hospital to undergo further assessment in a community setting. To ensure continuity of care, the provider obtained hospital assessments to confirm they could meet each person’s needs. People supported in discharge to assess beds were reviewed promptly by their own GP.
When hospital admissions were required, the provider supplied comprehensive information to the hospital team, ensuring they had a clear understanding of the individual’s needs and could deliver appropriate care.
 

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 received training in safeguarding and knew how to identify and report abuse. They understood their responsibility to report any safeguarding concerns to management and were confident to do so.
Investigations took place when serious incidents occurred and outcomes were shared with the local authority.
Safeguarding concerns were discussed at meetings with all staff and where necessary supervisions took place to ensure learning and to mitigate future risk. Safeguarding concerns were reviewed at monthly meetings with the clinical staff which ensured the relevant referrals had been made and care plans and risk assessments had been updated.

Staff supported people to stay safe by taking steps to reduce the risk of harm. For example, one person who displayed agitated behaviour and frequently climbed out of bed was provided with a low-level bed, pressure mats, and appropriate clinical input to help 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 and people were not restricted unnecessarily. There was a balanced approach to risk which supported people and their choices. For example, one person who was very active and liked to walk all day was encouraged to use an electric bike to exercise. This helped to reduce the risk of falling when walking.
Staff explained how they supported people to stay safe from known risks by checking equipment and, reporting any changes in people’s presentation. The management team carried out spot checks to ensure risk management plans were being followed and were effective.
 

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 carried out regular internal and external checks of the environment including fire safety and gas safety.The passenger lift had been assessed in line with the requirements of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER). During the assessment we identified one outstanding action that had not been completed within the required time frame. We fed this back to the registered manager and the required work has now been completed.

Managers completed daily walk arounds of the home to ensure equipment was safe and any concerns were reported promptly. Maintenance staff were available at the home to rectify any safety concerns.
 

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 were recruited safely and had pre-employment checks in place prior to commencing employment. Staff received an induction and training suitable for their job role.
Staff received supervision and appraisal and were able to attend regular staff meetings. Staff were supported to develop in their role by gaining additional qualifications in care related subjects. Succession planning for staff development was discussed in staff supervision and appraisal.

Staffing levels were sufficient and dependency levels were reviewed to ensure people’s needs could be met.

 

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.

The home had a large space for laundry and storage of cleaning materials. An Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) policy was in place, together with a cleaning schedule and the home employed domestic staff. The home had IPC champions and IPC audits took place. Some relatives did note inconsistencies in the cleanliness of some of the communal areas and complaints had been made about the flooring in some of the bedrooms. The home was in the process of having all the bedroom floors changed from carpet to vinyl flooring to improve 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.

We saw that peoples medicine records contained information on allergies and how people liked to take their medicines. Applications of topical creams were documented on people’s records. Medicines were managed by staff who had been trained and had their competency assessed.

Medicines were stored securely and areas used to store medicines had temperatures monitored to ensure they are stored in a safe way.

For people who had their medicines administered covertly (hidden in food or drink) there were plans in place however instruction from a pharmacy professional advising to change the form of a medicine had not been actioned.

Instructions for medicines that were given when required (PRN) were available however for one person prescribed a strong sedative it did not contain person-centred information.

Staff were recording when thickened fluids were being given to a resident at risk of choking and aspiration.

The service was completing medicines audits which identified areas for improvement and action plans were completed.