Prince Alfred 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

People were kept safe and protected from harm. Staff understood the course of action to take if someone disclosed an allegation of abuse. People felt appropriate action was taken when they raised concerns and feedback. There was enough trained and qualified staff on shift and staff were recruited safely. Risk assessments contained enough information to help keep people safe. Staff knew how to support people and people told us they had been involved in their care and support plans. Lessons had been learnt from previous shortfalls in this area.

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.

People we spoke with said they felt the staff were always trying to do their best and improving when they had fed back they did not enjoy or like a particular event. One relative we spoke with told us “They [staff] have gotten to know [family member] really well during their time here- and I think it comes from learning when things were not always right and trying to put them right."

Staff fed back they felt listened to. There were discussions which took place during team meetings or supervisions when there were any lesson that needed to be learned and communicated across the staff team. One staff member said “We meet in the morning with domestics, kitchen staff, laundry and we discuss what is going on.”

There was a robust approach to ensuing lessons were learned when there were any shortfalls or near misses in regard to people's care and support. There was an incident and accident log in place which had been scrutinized to ensure patterns and trends were identified. We spoke with the registered manager who had identified there had been an increase in number of falls for some people in April, and they had identified some potential solutions to incidents occurring. The registered manager told us there was a process for staff to follow outlined in the whistleblowing policy so staff could report any safety issues.

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.

Everyone we spoke with said they felt safe. One person told us, “I feel safe, I could speak to the staff if I felt worried.” Another person we spoke with described how they felt the staff looked after them well. They said “I am very safe here, I would tell them if I wasn’t, don’t you worry!”

All of the staff we spoke with said they felt they knew the correct procedure to follow if someone was being harmed or abused. This included escalating these concerns to the registered manager or reporting the concerns directly to the local authority or police themselves. One staff member said, “I would raise with my manager in the first instance. I would also raise with careline” All of the staff confirmed they had been trained in safeguarding, and the said the provider always ensured additional training was undertaken when needed. The registered manager told us “We are constantly ensuring staff training in this area is above our target.” The registered confirmed they kept themselves up to date with any changes in legislation.

We observed staff safely supporting people in the home. Staff made sure people had access to their equipment to help them mobilize, and they also made sure people had enough food and it was served at the correct temperature. Staff also ensured people were supported by the correctly when transferring.

There was a safeguarding process in place which was presented in different formats to support people’s understanding. Additionally, where required, all safeguarding incidents had been reported to the local authority safeguarding teams. There was a whistleblowing policy and procedure in place to support staff with how to raise concerns. All staff has been trained in safeguarding adults and knew the correct process to follow.

People we spoke with confirmed they had been involved in the completion of their risk assessments and understood what paperwork was in place and why it was there. One person said “This is my Zimmer- the staff keep it clean and tidy for me.” Another person explained how they enjoyed getting up when they wanted, and liked to sleep in on occasion. The registered manager had ensured risk assessments were completed with the consent of the person involved. Where this was not possible, a best interest process had been followed with the involvement of key people in the person's life.

All of the staff fed back they were involved in adding to people’s risk assessments and the review process of these assessments as and when required. One staff member told us “One person upstairs is deaf so I am able to communicate with her using sign language.” Staff also gave us example of planned activities such as a barge trip where risks to people were robustly assessed before they completed the activity to ensure they were supported safely.

People were well supported by staff to mobilise around the home. Where people needed equipment or support with eating, such as food to be cut up smaller for them, this was done. Staff were observed walking around the home making sure equipment was not blocking passageways and chairs and tables were tucked in so people were not at risk of falling.

People had complex risk assessments in place to cover all areas of their assessed needs. For example, we saw how 1 person required help with transferring. They had a moving and handling risk assessment in place which stipulated the action the staff were required to take in order to help the person to remain safe and minimise the risk of harm occurring, such as any potential injuries which could be sustained from using the equipment. We saw risk assessments were reviewed every month as part of the registered managers oversight or when they were required to be reviewed following a fall or a change to the person’s needs.

Everyone we spoke with said they felt the home was clean and tidy. People and their relatives told us their bedrooms were always clean, and their washing was always done and returned to them. People said the communal areas in the home were nicely decorated and they felt the home was safe and secure.

Staff told the us that any repairs or maintenance was always dealt with quickly at the home. One staff member said “Yes, we have a book in the office to write things down and make sure everything is maintained. Each morning we raise issues they get fixed straight away.”

We observed the atmosphere of the home was clean, in good structural repair and nicely decorated and presented. We observed fire doors were working safely and had been checked each day. The water temperatures were within safe range. The windows were fitted with window restrictors to ensure people were safe from harm. The lift had recently been repaired and serviced. We observed the lift in operation and saw it worked without issue.

There was a range of checks and audits in place to ensure the environment was safe and well maintained. We sample a range of safety certificates at the location and saw they were in date. Processes such as maintenance records, were in place and updated regularly. There was a Regional Maintenance Officer was at the home at the time of our assessment who demonstrated some of the processes used to ensure the environment was safe.

People we spoke with and a relative told us there was always enough staff around to be able to help them when they needed it, and they felt staff always had time to sit and chat. A relative told us they always saw the same staff at the home which had helped their family member to settle in. One person told us "Always enough staff, no issues with the staff numbers they are all very kind and lovely. " Someone else said "I have never had any problems at all- they come very fast."

All of the staff we spoke with told us there was enough of them on duty to provide a safe and effective service to the people living at the home. Staff explained how they all worked together to ensure any outstanding shifts were covered, and how there is always enough of them to be able to sit and chat with people as well as provide hands on care for people. One staff member said "Yes, there is always enough staff, we support each other and share duties." Another staff member told us staffing had improved lately as more staff had been taken on.

We observed sufficient numbers of staff in and around the home. When staff were not providing hands on support, they were sitting and chatting with people. We observed people were dancing, singing and knitting with staff. Call bells were answered promptly, and people were not left unsupervised in communal areas of the home.

There were processes in place to ensure staff were trained, supervised and appraised appropriately. Staff recruitment was safe and the provider had ensured DBS checks and references were carried out for staff before they started working at the home. There was a dependency tool in place, which had recently been updated to reflect people's current needs.

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.