The Care and Support Group County Durham

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 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.

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

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.

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.

Safeguarding concerns were investigated appropriately whenever they were raised. Staff we spoke with were able to show their knowledge and understanding of how important it was to identify and report potential signs of abuse. One staff member told us, “I would look for signs such as anyone acting differently, marks or bruises, or if they went of their food. I would report to the office and my manager.”

The provider worked with people to understand and manage risks. 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 take risks as part of their everyday life safely. Care plans were developed with people to ensure risks were identified and appropriately managed. People were supported by staff who were trained in managing risks effectively. People’s care plans reflected how people were supported to be safe.

People we spoke with, and their relatives told us they felt safe. One person said, “I do feel safe here in my flat. I also have a buzzer to press, and they (the staff) come pretty quickly”.

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

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 told us they received regular support and felt their supervisions were meaningful. People had access to enough staff to meet their needs effectively. The management team had recently carried out extensive engagement work with the staff team to improve communication between everyone and this had been well received by staff who shared positive feedback with us.

Recruitment of staff was carried out safely with the appropriate, robust checks in place.

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.

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