Fairdene Lodge

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. There were processes in place to ensure that people were kept safe, and staff had the appropriate training to ensure they could meet the needs of the people living at the home. People and their relatives were involved in all care planning and people were encourage to take positive risks.

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.

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. Incidents were investigated thoroughly and used to inform changes within the service. Feedback from relatives was positive around the learning culture, that any issues raised were dealt with quickly and efficiently. Staff feedback was positive and evidenced the learning culture. Staff told us, “We record any accidents and incidents and analyse them to look for patterns or trends. We can then feed this back to staff and change people’s care plans accordingly.”

Managers and staff 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. Medical appointments and outcomes from these were recorded in people’s care plans. Staff told us they had good working relationships with health care professionals. One staff member said, “We book health and hospital appointments for people when they need them, and we take them and support them.” Another staff member said, “If they need any treatment that we can’t do in the home, like going to the hospital, we record it all and let the family know as well.”

Managers and staff 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 management team shared concerns quickly and appropriately with the local safeguarding authority and CQC. Staff were aware of safeguarding and had a good understanding of what they needed to do if they suspected or saw any kind of abuse. Staff told us, “I know about safeguarding, I’d raise anything that I was not happy about, we are told to do this.” Another staff member told us, “We work with safeguarding and investigate anything that we need to.” People told us they were safe, comments included, “I feel safe, yes of course I do” and “I’m alright thanks, yes I’m safe, I guess I’d talk to them if I wasn’t.”

Managers and staff 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. Staff explained to us their understanding of how to mitigate risks and how they supported people to stay safe. People were supported to take risks, with support, to enhance their quality of life. For example, staff supported people to go for regular walks around the local area. Staff encouraged people to take risks by mobilising safely and independently around all areas of the home. A staff member told us: “We are trying to make the home as dementia friendly as possible, which will let people enjoy all of the areas of the home.”

Managers and staff detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. We observed all areas were easily accessible for people and saw people moving freely and safely. “The management team told us how they made adjustments to the home to improve the facilities for the residents, so they can easily access all areas of the home. They had extended the living area to give residents more space to relax or join in with activities, a new garden room that was easily accessible so that they could enjoy quiet visits with their loved ones. People and their relatives told us, “They have a maintenance team and new buildings in the garden. Garden room is really nice. The home is well kept.” Staff told us: “The home is very accessible, people can access most of it, things get fixed quickly if they break. We have all the equipment we need.” The maintenance team told us: “It gets recorded what we need look at and repair. In the whole time I’ve been here, things can just be repaired and serviced as they need to be. We never have to wait for it to be signed off, we get it fixed.”

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 had been safely recruited and had been trained and supported to carry out their roles effectively. There was enough staff to support people to remain safe. Relatives told us staff were excellent, very welcoming and knowledgeable. A relative told us staff were very attentive and always on hand if they were needed. Another relative said: “Really, really happy, very content with the care, staff are very welcoming, and they keep us updated about anything.”

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. The home was clean and tidy and there were cleaning schedules and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in place and being used. People and their relatives told us the home is well maintained and always clean. O ne relative said, “It's very clean and I spot check my mother's room and it's maintained. Any concerns, they are quick to make adjustments.” Staff were knowledgeable about Infection prevention and control (IPC) and gave examples of how they ensured the home was kept clean. One staff member said, “There is continual cleaning of the home, and we follow all our IPC policies and procedures, plus there are spot checks.” Another staff member said, “I order the PPE and cleaning equipment, it’s all in order and we never run out.”

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. There were policies and procedures in place to ensure safe medication administering and storage and there were regular audits of medicines. Staff told us: “The (named) system is good, it has all the information about people’s medicines, and we can then cross check that with the medicine on the trolley.” People told us they got the support they needed with their medicines. One relative told us that their loved one needed their medicines in a liquid form, and this was arranged promptly by the home.