Creative Support - The Houghtons

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.

People received safe care and support and told us they felt safe living at The Houghtons. Staff understood safeguarding procedures and were confident in reporting any concerns. Risks to people's safety were assessed and well managed, and people’s care plans detailed current risks and individual needs. There were sufficient numbers of staff who were safely recruited to meet people's needs. Risks to the environment were swiftly addressed and the service was well maintained and adapted to meet peoples needs.

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.

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 with the support they received. One person told us, “I feel very safe. I feel safer now than I did before I came here. It’s the safest I’ve felt in a long time.” A relative said, “My [family member] is well looked after and in safe hands.”

Staff knew how to take action to minimise the risks of avoidable harm to people and were passionate about ensuring people were safe from harm. One staff member commented, “Keeping people safe is our job. I know about safeguarding and would be comfortable reporting anything I was concerned about.” Staff confirmed they had completed training in recognising and reporting abuse and all staff we spoke with were able to tell us where safeguarding policies and information was held.

We observed staff supporting people safely and supporting them in a calm manner when they became anxious.

Staff training records confirmed that all staff had completed safeguarding training for vulnerable adults and children. There were safeguarding policies that were accessible to staff and each staff member had a staff handbook that also contained information about safeguarding. The manager maintained a safeguarding matrix, so they had good managerial oversight of any safeguarding concerns. Records showed the provider reported safeguarding incidents as required to the relevant agencies and used these to learn lessons when things went wrong.

Staff provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them. One person said, "I make the decisions about my care, and I know the risk assessments I have in place to keep me safe.” They went on to describe the steps they would take when leaving the house on their own to ensure their safety. We saw that 1 person had an incident at a local leisure centre. The incident report was completed using photographs in line with the persons specific communication needs, using photos to develop a personalised risk assessment. This ensured the person was able to have a better understanding of the incident and the steps being taken to ensure there was no re-occurrence of the incident.

Staff told us they were able to keep people as safe as possible, whilst also promoting their independence. One member of staff told us, "Risk assessments are very helpful and give us the information we need to make sure we keep people safe.” Staff supported people to take positive risks to improve their quality of life and increase their independence to its maximum. For example, we saw that 1 person liked to go out on their own and detailed guidance was in place for staff to follow to ensure they were enabled to do this safely. A staff member commented, "We don’t want to restrict people from trying new things. We plan things with people and make them aware of the risks and what they need to do to stay safe.”

We observed staff supporting people to mobilise safely by making sure floors were clear from hazards.

Records confirmed that risk assessments were in place to identify all the risks present within a person’s life. Each person’s assessment was personalised to them and described the support they needed to manage risks. Risk assessments addressed people's diverse needs. In all instances, these had been reviewed monthly to make sure they remained up to date and reflected changes to people's circumstances.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. People were satisfied the environment was safe and accessible to them in all areas. One person told us, “I love my room and I love this house. It’s spacious and homely.”

Staff told us they carried out safety checks around the service and if anything required attention this was always carried out swiftly.

We saw that people were being supported in a safe environment with well-maintained equipment appropriate for their needs. For example, where it was needed, we saw overhead tracking to support people with safe moving procedures. The house was clean and homely and reflected people’s interests.

Environmental checks and audits supported the provision of a safe living environment for people.

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. One person told us, “I think there is always enough staff. Since I came here, I have not known them to be short of staff.” A relative commented, “The staff have been really good at helping [family member] settle in. The have all the support they need and the staff have always been there to support them with everything.”

Staff told us that staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs. One staff member told us, "The staffing levels have improved a lot since our new manager has been here. We have really good staffing, and we always have enough staff to take people out.”

On the day of our site visit we observed sufficient staff to meet people’s needs in a timely manner. We saw the deployment of staff throughout the day was organised and people who required support with their personal care needs received this in a timely and sensitive way. We found staff had time to spend with people on an individual basis.

The staff rotas showed there was sufficient and consistent staffing to support people. A robust assessment of people’s needs was completed before a care package was agreed. This meant the provider was able to assess how much support a person needed and how many staff were required to provide that support safely. The provider followed robust recruitment procedures to ensure people were protected from staff that may not be fit to support them.

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.