The Heathers

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 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 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 reported to the local authority and the Care Quality Commission as necessary. The electronic care system was also used to record any incidents. Incidents were discussed at regular handover meetings. Safeguarding concerns were reported and investigated by the manager and staff were encouraged to investigate concerns as well as reporting them.

One staff member said, “I have made suggestions about improvements to the new manager, and they said they will be discussed in a staff meeting.” The provider told us they planned to continue to improve care standards and ensure staff had the training and knowledge to provide safe care.

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.

Care plans contained information to enable staff and visiting professionals to understand care people needed. Community nurses visited the home to assist in managing people’s specific health conditions. A visiting health professional told us they had no concerns with the care provided at the home and staff were always helpful.

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 were trained to understand the importance of safeguarding and the action they should take if they had any concerns. There were posters about the home to remind staff, people, and visitors about who they should report any concerns about care or safety to. Staff told us they had safeguarding training. The registered manager notified the local authority and the Care Quality Commission about injuries and other concerns when necessary.

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 manage risks while experiencing positive risk to ensure they were able to live life as they chose. People were able to go shopping with staff, take part in activities within the home and access the garden. Care plans included risk assessments to enable staff to keep people safe. We saw staff assist people to have hot drinks in a safe way, ensuring people were aware of the location of drinks if they were partially sighted for example.

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 home was tidy and free from clutter. Where needed, floors were laminated and non-slip. Signs throughout the home were clear and had easy to recognise pictures. People’s rooms had clear signs which included images of things that were relevant to them to assist with orientation. There was a lift for people who could not manage the stairs and staff had created a poster with easy-to-read instructions for people so they could use it independently. Bathrooms had colour contrast facilities which can make it easier for people living with dementia to use safely.

The provider did not always make sure there were enough skilled and experienced staff to provide safe care that met people’s individual needs. They did not always make sure staff received effective support, supervision and development.
Staff had not always received formal supervision. Some staff said they had not had formal supervisions with the new registered manager; however, they felt they knew the senior team well to talk to if they had concerns about the care they provided.
While on the day of our visit we saw sufficient staff to support people safely, staff told us there were times where the staff numbers were insufficient for effective support of people when they needed it. A staff member said, “There can be staffing shortages, especially when the home is full, which can increase the workload. Staff are often required to cover multiple duties, including cooking, cleaning, laundry and care responsibilities.”
 

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 told us the cleaning staff supported the chef, which meant cleaning could be delayed. A staff member said, “Cleaning has been inadequate, where only one cleaner is available and if they are assigned cooking duties, there is no cleaning coverage.”
However, on the day of our visit the home was clean and uncluttered. Staff had access to cleaning equipment and products as necessary, and these were kept locked safely away from people. The kitchen had been refurbished since the provider took over the home and was now a professional style kitchen with easy to clean units. Audits were carried out to ensure that cleaning schedules were completed, and the home manager had implemented daily walk arounds to assess cleanliness at the home.

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.
Medicines were managed safely. Staff had been recently retrained and staff from another of the providers homes had been supporting staff with improving the administration of medicines. Medicines administration record (MAR) charts were up to date and clearly annotated. Each MAR chart contained information on how people preferred to take their medicines. Staff used date stickers to keep track of when medicines were opened, and when they should be discarded. The provider liaised with the pharmacy to ensure external medicines audits were carried out.

Fridge and room temperatures were recorded daily by staff. However, there was a lack of guidance for staff on what normal safe temperature ranges were, or what to do if they were exceeded. We spoke to the provider about this at the time and they told us this would be rectified immediately.