The Limes

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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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. For example, incidents were reviewed for any trends to prevent similar incidents occurring. A regional support manager said learning had already been taken from this assessment to be shared across the provider group.

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. A health professional confirmed this by saying, “This is a good home, the staff always make appropriate and timely referrals and seek our input when needed with good communication.” Staff said information was shared with them via an electronic care planning system’.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that. They concentrated on improving people’s lives while protecting their right to live in safety, free from harassment, abuse and neglect. The service shared concerns appropriately. People told us they felt safe with the staff. One person said,” I do feel very safe, I can call someone, and they come and help me, they come quickly when use my buzzer.” Staff received training in safeguarding and knew what to do if they suspected abuse including how to contact the police or the local authority to keep people safe.

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. Risks to people's individual health and wellbeing were assessed and action taken to minimise those risks. Where risks were identified, people's care records described the actions staff should take to minimise them. For example, in relation to moving and transferring, epilepsy and nutrition. Where people had modified diets or they required their fluid and food intake to be monitored, records were not detailed enough. The registered manager confirmed records had been updated and advice sought after our site visit.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the home. The provider completed environmental risk assessments to check if it was safe for staff to carry out care in a safe environment. This included checks around fire safety. During our assessment, the home was undergoing a refurbishment. Parts of the home under refurbishment were screened off so people were kept safe whilst work and repairs was underway. Increased fire safety measures were taken to minimise any additional risk. People described their home as, “Very friendly” and “Quite pleasant especially recently.”

The provider made sure there were always enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received thorough support and supervision. They worked together well to provide safe care that met people’s individual needs. The managers had worked well to ensure they matched the staff’s skills and experience to the needs of the person. A person said, “Most of time staff are quite quick, sometimes longer but staff will pop their head in and explain.” People said they had help whenever needed. The provider completed safe recruitment checks to make sure staff were suitable to care for them.

The provider assessed and managed the risk of infection. People and relatives told us that staff attending to them would wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Records of observed staff practice showed staff wore appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Staff confirmed they had completed training and always had access to supplies of PPE.

The provider did not always make sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. Some improvement to people’s records who required medicines to be taken with thickened fluids, or for people who required eye drops to be administered safely and in line with manufacturers guidelines, was required. Following our site visit, the registered manager had sought additional support to make those improvements. Staff received medication administration training and had their competency assessed. The electronic systems and regular checks ensured the management team were alerted and took appropriate action if any medicines task had not been completed.