Heritage Healthcare York

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• 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

Our rating for this key question remains good. Staff protected people from avoidable harm and abuse and care workers had received safeguarding training to ensure they were aware of how to identify and report their concerns. Safeguarding procedures were in place and the registered manager had good oversight of accidents and incidents. Processes were in place to ensure appropriate referrals were made to external professionals when needed. Staff had completed assessments of people's individual needs. Where any risks had been identified we saw these were recorded and associated support plans were in place to help mitigate the risks. The provider had robust recruitment processes and systems in place to ensure care workers were appropriately recruited into the service.

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.

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.

People told us they felt safe, and their support needs were met. Family members told us the service would share any concerns about relatives with them. Feedback from relatives included, “I am sure [relative] is safe with them, they do let me know if anything goes wrong” and “[relative] is safe with them, they let me know if anything is wrong with him.” One person told us, “I feel very safe with them all, I feel blessed really, it’s really marvellous.”

Staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities. Staff knew what to do if they had any concerns and were confident any concerns would be dealt with appropriately. One member of staff told us, “I am 100% confident that concerns raised would be acted upon and dealt with appropriately.” The registered manager told us safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures were covered during initial induction with staff and as part of a specific safeguarding module that was refreshed annually. All staff had access to the safeguarding policy and regular staff meetings highlighted the importance of safeguarding and whistleblowing.

Safeguarding policies and procedures were in place. A safeguarding log was present and included a good level of detail, including if the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had been notified. Staff completed mental capacity assessments where appropriate and recorded best interest decisions for specific situations.

Relatives told us staff managed risks safely and involved them in their relatives’ care plans. Family members were involved in regular reviews of their relatives’ risk assessments and people were supported to be involved where possible. One family member told us, “we sit down every two months and discuss things and change things if needed.”

Staff and leaders were knowledgeable about the assessment and management of risks to people and how to enable people to take positive risks. The registered manager told us people’s level of need was treated as an ongoing process that could change at any time. Staff completed regular reviews of people’s needs and had regular contact with people to ensure accurate assessments were in place.

Risk assessments for people were person-centred, proportionate and respected people’s care choices. Care plans were implemented in response to risk. One area of a care plan contained inconsistent information regarding manual handling risks. The registered manager resolved this immediately following feedback. Staff had access to lone worker risk assessments and a lone worker checklist. Environmental risk assessments were also in place.

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

People told us there were enough staff, a monthly rota was in place, and they had a regular team of carers. People and relatives told us that staff were well-trained and competent in their roles and people felt safe with staff. One person told us, “the staff are all very well trained and know what they are doing, even if another family member is covering it is all as it should be.”

Staff told us there was enough staff to safely support people. Feedback included, “at the moment the ratio (of staff) is good, staffing levels are fine and there are enough staff to carry out all tasks, activities and care needs for clients.” Staff told us they received an induction and appropriate training that was relevant to their role. If additional training was requested, staff felt confident that additional training requests would be facilitated.

Processes were in place to ensure that there was sufficient staff to cover care calls. Staff had received a good range of training that was tailored to people’s needs. Where staff were overdue training, the provider had taken action to address this. Recruitment records confirmed that Heritage Healthcare York had carried out all relevant employment checks when staff were employed, including making sure all staff had a suitable Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check before starting work and the right to work in the UK. Staff received the support they needed to deliver safe care. Records included evidence of supervisions and support to develop within the role.

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

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