Lambeth Office

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. This is the first inspection of this service. This key question has been rated 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.

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. The service had regular staff meetings to discuss all aspects of the service including when things went wrong and ways to improve. The service had a complaints policy, and an accident an incident policy in place for staff to follow. At the time of the inspection, we were told there had been no accidents or incidents in the 12 months prior to the inspection.

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 if people were required to move between different services.

At the time of the inspection, there were no people moving from one service to another. The provider worked with health professionals and community settings such as the local church to ensure people’ s health and social care needs were met. Care plans documented people’s care and support needs within the home and in the community.

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 regarding safeguarding in a timely manner. Staff told us they received training in safeguarding adults, and we saw evidence to support this training had taken place. The service had a safeguarding policy in place, which detailed the types of abuse and how to report abuse.

Staff told us they would follow the safeguarding guidelines and “report any concerns immediately” to the registered manager.

People and their relatives told us they felt safe with the staff that supported them. One person said, “We feel safe. We do not feel at risk of abuse, we get on fine with [staff]. The care is consistent and we are happy.”

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 had care plans and risk assessments in place. For example, people at risk of falls had assessments which told staff how to support people to prevent falls from occurring. The registered manager worked with people and their relatives to create care plans and risk assessment. These were reviewed regularly with the involvement of people and their relatives. People told us they had copies of their care plans in their homes, and they were happy with the care they received. People told us they were involved in the planning and review of their care plans.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.

The service had environmental risk assessments place. This ensured staff were able to support people in a safe and clean environment. Care plans included evacuation requirements people required to advise staff how to support them safely in an emergency. The registered manager completed unannounced spot checks to ensure staff were delivering care in an environment that was safe and appropriate for staff and the people they supported. One person said, “Our house is left clean and tidy.”

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.

The provider ensured staffing was safe by ensuring all staff had Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks in place. DBS checks provide information including details about convictions and cautions held on the Police National Computer. The information helps employers make safer recruitment decisions.

Recruitment files included information about staff’s employment histories, work references and up to date right to work in the UK documents. All these ensured that staff recruitment was safe.

We saw records which supported staff had received an induction at the beginning of their employment. We saw records, including training certificates to support staff had received mandatory training to help them support people safely.

Staff told us they completed an induction at the beginning of their employment and had regular supervisions with the registered manager.

People told us they believed staff were sufficiently trained to support them with their care and support needs. People told us they received all scheduled care visits. If staff were going to be late, they would call ahead and inform people of this. People told us they were happy with the support they received from staff.

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 told us staff used PPE appropriately. They told us that staff kept their home environments safe. We received comments like, “[Staff] do wear PPE and my home is left clean and tidy” and “Gloves and aprons are worn, and hands are washed all the time.” The registered manager told us there is always PPE for staff to collect from the office. Staff confirmed that PPE was always available.

The provider made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. We reviewed medicines administration records (MAR) which showed people had been administered the correct medicines at the correct time. All charts were up to date and signed by staff. The registered manger completed regular audits of medicines records to ensure accuracy and compliance was maintained.

Staff involved people in planning, including when changes happened. The service had a medicines policy in place for staff to follow. Staff had received training in supporting people with medicines, and this training was completed annually. People told us they received support with their medicines as required. One person said, “Staff give medication each day, and this is done safely.”