The White Horse Care Trust Supported Living and Outreach Service

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

In this key question we looked at 2 quality statements: safeguarding and medicines optimisation. We found people were supported safely and that medicines were managed well.

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 were happy living at the service. People knew how to report issues to staff or the manager. Some people also knew they could contact more senior members of staff if their concerns were about the managers within their house. One person told us, “The staff are so nice”. We saw people were supported to raise any concerns they may have had and saw these were managed in a sensitive and respectful way.

Staff demonstrated clear knowledge and understanding of safeguarding issues and how to report them both within their organisation and to the local authority. Staff told us they had received training in safeguarding and told us about different types of abuse to look out for.

People were seen to interact well with staff who demonstrated their knowledge of people and understood their support needs. People appeared happy in the company of staff.

There were systems and processes to ensure people were safeguarded from abuse. Managers completed safeguarding surveys for staff to assess their knowledge and to address any gaps. The provider went above and beyond and used a proactive approach in relation to supporting people to stay safe, including seeking feedback from people using services. Through this exercise, the provider identified people knew how to contact emergency services, but not everyone knew what to ask for following this contact being made. We saw the manager of the service had implemented some training for people to support them to have a better understanding of who to ask for in different emergency situations. Clear actions were taken in response to incidents and accidents; detailing actions taken and any lessons learned to reduce the risk of these incidents occurring again.

We did not look at Involving people to manage risks during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

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

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

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 spoke with one person in relation to medicines, who told us they had no complaints and were happy with the support they were receiving. The service had received positive feedback from relatives following a person being supported with a medical intervention.

Managers told us there were regular supervisions in place for staff, and staff told us they felt supported by management. Staff told us they received medicines training and had regular competency assessments. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s needs and their medicines. Staff were knowledgeable about the systems and processes relating to medicine management.

People’s medicines were stored appropriately, and people were supported with their medication according to requirements and their policy. We observed staff were compassionate and competent, tailoring to the needs of the person. People received their medicines in a safe and caring way and were given the appropriate level of support, as per their individual needs.

Hospital transfer passports were available for all people and had up-to-date and relevant information for hospital admission. Medication administration record (MAR) charts were completed appropriately. Medicines management training consisted of online and face-to-face teaching and was delivered by a nurse. Staff had regular competency assessments completed on an annual basis. All medications errors were reported on an online system with an effective system to review the error and complete necessary actions. All errors reviewed were dealt with appropriately and reviewed by management.