Dovecote Residential Care Home

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 the last inspection 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 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 service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. The registered manager used the information to identify areas where lessons could be learnt. A staff member said, “We have a good system for sharing information and areas for learning. We all can see what the audits tell us and work together to make improvements.”

The service 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 relative said, “The one [person’s name] was in before this was horrendous, my expectations were low, but I got a good feel about the place when we came, it’s pretty good.” Another relative said, “[Person’s name] has deteriorated over the time they have been at the home because of their illness but staff have changed to meet their needs. Staff now know that they have to prompt [person’s name] to eat and they have to have one plate with food on and nothing else around. They even had to teach [person’s name] how to use a knife and fork again because of their Lewy Body dementia. They are so patient and caring.”

The service 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 bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect. The service shared concerns quickly and appropriately. Staff had training and a good understanding of what to do to make sure people were protected from harm or abuse. The management team ensured, DoLS authorisations were sought when needed and any conditions imposed by them were followed.

The service worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. They provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them. A staff member said, “Since the last inspection new managers came in who were really good at explaining how we needed to support people, and this really helped us to improve our understanding of risk management. I think the plans are now much clearer.”

The service detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. Environmental risks were assessed and addressed. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care and worked with external professionals to review people’s aides. People were supported to be as independent as possible within the environment. Since the last inspection the provider had completed a full refurbishment of the service, which improved the environment. People using the service contributed to this by selecting colour schemes and wallpaper for lounges and their bedrooms. The staff team knew who to contact when people might benefit from additional aids or equipment. Staff were trained to use any equipment people needed.

The service 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 registered manager promoted a learning culture and ensured staff had access to a wide range of training. Recruitment practices were meeting requirements. A relative said, “The levels of staff have certainly improved over the last 8-9 months or so and I do feel [person] is in the safest place for her condition.” Another relative said, “There’s always plenty of staff and they are great.”

The service assessed and managed the risk of infection. They detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly. Staff followed the required infection control guidelines. A relative said, “[Person’s name] room was always very messy under the old regime. There was lots of paper tissue lying around, staff would be sitting around chatting and the laundry that went missing was a nightmare. That has got better, and as far as cleanliness, it is like walking into a different place now.”

The service made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. Staff who administered medicines had the appropriate training and competency checks. A staff member said, “The electronic system for medicine administration is brilliant, as it is virtually impossible to make an error. It will not allow you to issue medicines if the time is wrong or they have been given. Since we started using it the audits show we have never made a mistake.” A person said, “They are very good with the tablets.”