• Care Home
  • Care home

22 De Parys Avenue

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

22 De Parys Avenue, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK40 2TW (01234) 355133

Provided and run by:
Consensus Support Services Limited

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

Report from 21 February 2024 assessment

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Safe

Good

Updated 15 March 2024

People and their families told us they/ their family member were safe living at the service. Staff had training in safeguarding and knew how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report concerns. The management team assessed risks to people and put plans in place to help mitigate these risks. Staff completed health and safety, including fire checks to help maintain the safety of the environment. The management team acted immediately on some of our feedback about the upkeep and cleanliness of some aspects of the environment. There were enough staff to support people safely and staff were recruited in line with legislation.

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.

Learning culture

Score: 3

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

Safe systems, pathways and transitions

Score: 3

We did not look at Safe systems, pathways and transitions during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

Safeguarding

Score: 3

We observed staff supporting people in a safe way at the service. For example, people were fully involved in a practice fire drill. One person said, ‘‘I am the fire marshal here. It is an important job and we all practice what to do in an emergency together.’’ Staff spoke with people about how to keep safe in various situations such as leaving the service unsupported. People were supported by staff in line with their care plans and risk assessments.

People and their relatives felt they/ their family member were safe living at the service. One person said, ‘‘I feel as though I am in a safe place here. I practice being safe with the staff, like doing a fire drill or talking about going out and about by myself.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘I know [family member] is safe and they feel reassured by this. This then reassures me.’’

There was a safeguarding policy in place at the service which detailed how staff could raise concerns if they needed to. Incidents and accidents were reviewed to see if lessons could be learned and to help minimise risks recurring. The management team completed audits to help ensure staff were supporting people safely and the environment was safe. Any safeguarding concerns were raised with the safeguarding team so people received the right support.

Staff had training in safeguarding and knew how to report any concerns they might have both at the service and to external authorities such as CQC or the local authority safeguarding team. The registered manager had a good relationship with the local safeguarding team and discussed any support people might need in this area.

Involving people to manage risks

Score: 3

We observed people being supported in line with their assessed risks. For example, staff supported people to go out of the service if it was not safe for them to do this themselves. One person had been supported to improve their health by changing their habits and proudly told us how they were happy about this. However, some areas of the service such as the kitchen and one person’s bedroom were not as clean as the rest of the service. Some areas of the service also looked tired and in need of decoration. One person said, ‘‘I like it here but I do think some of the house needs a lick of paint.’’ We fed this back to the registered manager who took our feedback seriously and immediately took action to make and sustain improvements.

People’s care plans and risk assessments were detailed and gave a good overview about how staff could support people to mitigate risks. They also focused on positive risk taking such as supporting people to learn to do things independently or leave the service by themselves eventually. One person said, ‘‘[Staff] help me go out at the moment but I am working on going out by myself once I know the area a bit better.’’ The management team completed audits to ensure any risks with the environment were noticed and addressed in a timely manner.

Staff told us risk assessments were detailed and helped guide them how to support people safely. They told us they were able to speak to the registered manager or senior staff to update care plans and risk assessments if they felt there had been any changes. They also told us how they completed health and safety checks of the environment to help keep people safe.

People told us staff supported them in a safe way. One person said, ‘‘Staff help me with the cooking, using the oven and the microwave as I am still getting used to this.’’ Another person told us, ‘‘I feel safe when [health condition] impacts me as staff know exactly what they are doing.’’ A relative said, ‘‘[Family members] needs have changed a lot recently and the staff have been amazing. They have really adapted to make sure their needs can still be met.’’

Safe environments

Score: 3

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

Safe and effective staffing

Score: 3

People told us there were enough staff to support them safely. One person said, ‘‘There is always someone about. It is always the same staff as well so we all know each other.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘The staff team has been consistent for a little while now and this has made it easier for [family member] to build good relationships with them.’’ People also told us staff had time to spend talking with them and supporting them to follow their interests as well as support them with their essential needs. One person told us, ‘‘I got some good news today. [Staff] have helped me start [what I am interested in]. Its exciting.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘What I like is that even if something cannot happen at the minute it is needed, staff always organise for it to happen as soon as possible.’’

The registered manager ensured people had the correct levels of staff to support them with their needs and to take part in their interests. Rotas confirmed there were enough suitably skilled staff to support people at all times of the day. The provider had systems in place to ensure staff had the training they needed and encouraged staff to take part in bespoke training such as supporting people living with specific health conditions. Staff were recruited safely in line with current legislation.

Staff felt there were enough staff to support people safely. Staff were trained in all the areas necessary to be effective in their job roles. Staff spoke about the impact training in supporting autistic people and people living with a learning disability had on their job roles and how it helped them understand how to support people in a more effective way.

We observed there to be enough staff to support people throughout the day. One person said, ‘‘I want to go for a coffee. I tell the staff and off we go.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘I think the staffing level is brilliant. [Family member] has a great social life.’’ We saw staff taking time to sit and talk with people throughout the day and people were visibly relaxed and calm during our site visit.

Infection prevention and control

Score: 3

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

Medicines optimisation

Score: 3

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