Furlong House

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 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. When things went wrong the provider carried out a review to learn and share this with staff. When people had an accident or an incident happen, their individual risk assessments and care plans were reviewed to reduce the risk of this happening again. Staff told us the provider shared learning with them when things had gone wrong.

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 providers systems to ensure people had a safe transition into the service included receiving information from local commissioners and completing an assessment. A planned transition to the service was arranged with the provider working with other professionals and people to develop a support plan to meet their needs and minimise any risks to their safety.

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 felt safe using the service. Relatives also felt people were safe with staff. A person told us, “I feel very safe with them every time they come.” A relative told us, “I know [person’s name] is safe with the staff, they are all very nice, [person’s name] has a group of regular ones who tend to visit most of the time.” Staff understood how to recognise abuse and had received training. Systems were in place which supported staff to recognise concerns and report these. The provider had policies and procedures in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse and the manager understood how to report any concerns to the appropriate body for investigation.

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 told us staff understood how to keep them safe. Relatives shared examples of how staff used equipment to support people with their mobility and transfers. Staff understood how to minimise risks to people’s safety. Staff could describe how they supported people to minimise the risks from health conditions, the risk of falls and risks relating to people’s skin integrity. Staff were aware of the plans in place to reduce risks and told us they followed the risk assessments and care plans when supporting people. Risk assessments and care plans were reviewed when incidents happened or every 6 months to check they were still effective. Care records were completed in the electronic system, and checks were made to ensure people received the care they needed.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. There were systems in place to identify any hazards or safety issues in the care environment. Risk assessments were completed and actions taken to minimise the risks. This included considering peoples home environment, hazards and fire safety. Staff were familiar with the information and could describe how they used the care plans to support people safely.

The provider did not always ensure safe recruitment systems were followed. The provider had a recruitment policy in place. However, this was not consistently followed, and we saw there were some gaps in staff recruitment files. The provider had identified some of these concerns at the time of the inspection and a plan was in place to address this. The providers recruitment policy was also under review. Improvements were needed to ensure safe staff recruitment practice was followed. We will check for improvements at the next inspection.However, effective systems were in place to ensure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff who received effective support, supervision and development. People and their relatives told us the staff were a consistent team who came at the arranged times. A relative told us, “I am very happy with what the staff do for me. I tend to have the same few come on a regular basis.” Staff told us they received regular updates to their training and records supported this. Staff had access to regular supervision to receive support in their role.

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. People and their relatives did not raise any concerns about infection prevention control practices. A policy and procedure were in place to guide staff on how to minimise the risk from cross infection. Staff had been trained and understood the providers policy and procedures for infection prevention control. Staff could describe how they effectively used protective equipment.

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. People and their relatives told us medicines were administered safely. A relative told us, “The staff make sure [person’s name] gets their medicine on time.” Staff had received training in medicines administration and the policy and procedure in place was used to guide how staff managed medicines safely. People had their individual needs assessed and a plan was in place to guide staff on the support they needed. Medicines administration records included guidance on how to apply topical medicines and give as required medicines. Staff recorded when people had their medicines and these records were checked to ensure people had the medicines they needed.