Fosse Healthcare - Nottingham

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

People and those important to them were supported to understand safeguarding and how to raise concerns when they did not feel safe. Staff understood their duty to protect people from abuse and knew how and when to report any concerns. When concerns had been raised, managers reported these promptly to the relevant agencies and worked proactively with them, to make sure timely action was taken to safeguard people from further risk. Safety risks to people were managed well. Managers assessed and reviewed safety risks to people and made sure people and those important to them, were involved in making decisions about how they wished to be supported to stay safe. There were enough staff to support people with their needs. Managers reviewed staffing levels regularly to make sure there were always enough suitably skilled and experienced staff on duty. Staff received relevant training to meet the range of people’s needs at the service. Staff received support through supervision and appraisal to support their continuous learning and improve their working practice. Managers made sure recruitment checks were undertaken on all staff to ensure only those individuals that were deemed suitable and fit, would be employed to support people at the service.

This service scored 38 (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.

The provider had clear policies and procedure in relation to safeguarding and whistleblowing and provided staff with training to ensure that they responded appropriately to any concerns. Concerns were reported and actioned by the management team which included reporting to the local authority safeguarding team and making statutory notifications to CQC. We saw documentation that was given to people when they started to use the service which gave them information about how to make a complaint or raise a concern.

Staff told us they had completed safeguarding training, and they were familiar with the whistleblowing process. Staff were aware of internal and external reporting for safeguarding concerns, as well as how to escalate any concerns within the organisation. One staff member told us, “If I reported a safeguarding, I am confident my manager would respond appropriately but, if not, I would follow it up and take it to the next level.”

People told us that they felt safe with the care staff. People told us they were aware of how to raise any concerns and where they had done this, the management team had responded appropriately. People told us having regular care staff made a difference to how they felt about their care. However, people reported that they did not feel unsafe with the less regular care staff. One person told us, “I do feel safe with the care staff. I don’t think I could be looked after any better even by family.”

The registered manager spoke with us about care planning and how they involved people to manage risks. “We always speak to the service user first, we will speak to the social worker and family if the person is happy for them to be involved.” The registered manager described a conversation they had with a person regarding home security and how they involved the person to make an informed decision about this. We reviewed risk assessments as part of people’s care plans which described actions to take to support people to manage risk and keep them safe.

People told us they felt involved in planning their care. One family member told us about a recent care plan review, “They [Manager] came out and sat with us, we had a chat which was useful but there was nothing that needed changing.” This meant people and their families were involved in managing risks.

Staff told us they supported people to be more involved in managing risk themselves. One staff member told us they had spoken with a person about smoking in their home, “I talked to [Name] about contacting the Fire and Rescue team to visit to complete a risk assessment.”

We did not look at Safe environments during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

Staff felt they had the right level of training to carry out their role safely and effectively and received on-going support and supervision. Staff told us they received an induction before they started providing care to people. One staff member told us, “The training and induction are very, very good; I learnt so much.” We reviewed documents which evidenced staff had completed training and received a handbook when they commenced employment to support good practice.

Some people reported there were changes from the staff who regularly came to support them. This meant, they did not always know which staff member(s) were coming. However, people felt the staff who came were well trained and they always received their care. One person told us, “When a new person [staff] come they shadow an existing carer.”

Staff were recruited safely. We spoke with the recruitment manager who had a clearly documented process and supporting organisational policy that they followed. This process ensured that necessary checks were completed which included reference checks, proof of identity and Right to Work where required, as well as Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. A DBS check is a way for employers to check an employee criminal record, to help decide whether they are a suitable person to work for them.

People told us staff ensured they used personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriately, washed their hands and were professional in their approach. One person told us, “They [staff] come in and put their gloves and aprons on and they ask if we want them to put masks on.”

Staff told us they had received infection prevention and control training and that they had access to enough personal protective equipment (PPE), for example: gloves, aprons and face masks if required. One staff member told us, “[Registered manager] will come out and drop off PPE if we don’t have time to pop into the office to pick some up.”

The provider ensured staff were trained in infection prevention and control. We reviewed the training matrix which showed the training was monitored. This ensured all staff had completed the training and it was in date. There was a robust policy in place and the management team completed regular spot checks on staff to ensure they were using PPE correctly.

We did not look at Medicines optimisation during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.