Consensus Community Support - Croydon

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 since their registration in August 2024. 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.

Systems were in place to help people and staff raise and report safety concerns and events when needed. Managers had oversight of concerns and events reported through these systems and made sure appropriate action was taken in response.

Safety concerns and events were analysed and the learning from these was used to help staff improve their working practices and keep people safe. A healthcare professional told us, “I have found (managers) transparent and willing to proactively monitor and learn from any incidents that have occurred.”

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.

Managers obtained detailed information from people and their representatives to identify their specific needs and risks to their safety. Relevant healthcare professionals were also involved to help managers obtain a comprehensive overview of people’s needs. Specialist staff from within the provider’s organisation supported managers to design an individualised positive behaviour support framework for people, where this need had been identified.

Managers used the information they obtained to develop individualised care and risk management plans which were shared with staff before they started to provide any care or support to people. They made sure staff had the appropriate skills and experience to provide the planned care and support. This helped to ensure people received safe and appropriate care and support as soon as they started using the service.

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 were provided with clear, easily accessible information about their rights and how they would be supported to stay safe.

Staff received relevant training to safeguard people from abuse. This included specific training in areas related to people’s choices and decisions about how they lived, for example, supporting sexual safety and helping people stay safe online. Staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding people and were confident raising and reporting concerns when needed. A staff member told us, “Safeguarding is the most important thing. You have to protect people from abuse or neglect…I do not neglect people and their needs. If people want something I react straight away and give them what they need.”

Managers made timely referrals when required to the local safeguarding authority. They worked with them when concerns were raised about people, to implement plans to safeguard people from risk, where this was needed.

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 were supported to understand potential risks to their safety. A staff member told us, “You explain risk to people clearly and back this up with leaflets to help people understand.” Staff worked with people to agree the measures needed to reduce risks to their safety and wellbeing. This gave people confidence to do activities and attend outings and events of their choice.

Managers made sure staff had access to current information and guidance on how risks posed to people should be managed to keep people safe from injury or harm. They reviewed this information at regular intervals to make sure risk management plans were continuing to support people to stay safe.

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

Managers assessed risks posed by people’s living environment and put measures in place to reduce these, to keep people safe. Staff undertook regular checks of people’s living environment for any health and safety concerns. Issues identified through these checks were reported to the housing provider for action.

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 appropriately skilled and able to care for and support people. Managers made sure staff undertook regular and relevant training. The interim service manager told us, “We need to make sure that staff on rota are trained in areas relevant to people’s needs.”

Staff worked well together and were supported by managers to meet people’s needs. A staff member told us, “It’s always easy to speak with [senior staff member] and she tries to support me. She listens to me. She is always giving feedback…When you have great people around you, you enjoy the job more.” The interim service manager said, “It’s important to lead by example, so we work with staff on shift, and we can pick up any issues more quickly.”

Staff were supported to continuously learn and improve in their roles through regular spot checks, supervision and appraisal of their work performance.

There were safe recruitment practices at the service. The provider carried out the necessary checks required on staff that applied to work at the service, to make sure they were suitable to support 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.

Staff were provided with relevant training and support to help them reduce infection risks in people’s living environment. They had access to supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) to help them minimise these risks.

Managers undertook regular observations of staff practice to make sure this was in line with standards and national guidance for minimising infection risks when supporting people. The service manager told us, “Staff are very good when it comes to infection control.”

The provider made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences.

People consistently received their prescribed medicines. Staff were given the necessary training and support to manage and administer medicines safely.

Managers told us improvements had been made to medicines administration following several errors identified earlier in the year. They carried out regular spot checks and medicines audits to ensure these improvements were sustained and that medicines continued to be managed and administered safely.