Avon Court

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 our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

This service scored 69 (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. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. Accidents and incidents were recorded and reviewed by the management team to ensure actions were implemented and all staff were aware of any learning. Incidents were thoroughly investigated and learning shared with managers across the provider’s other services.

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. People's health conditions were documented, and they were supported to access a range of health care professionals. Relatives said the service was very supportive when people moved in.

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 were aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and relatives told us they thought people felt safe living at Avon Court.

The service worked with people to understand and manage risks. They provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them. However, whilst staff were supporting people to manage the risks they faced, some information in the risk management plans had not been kept up to date. The provider took immediate action to update the records during our site visit.

The service identified and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. Equipment in the service was well maintained and there were systems to ensure the required health and safety checks had been completed. The manager told us there was a plan to replace furniture and carpets in the service as they were worn in places.

The service made sure there were usually enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. However, we observed, and staff told us, people on the ground floor of the home needed to wait too long for support with meals. The manager took immediate action to re-deploy some of the activities staff to help support people with meals and said they would keep support levels under review. Relatives told us staff had the right skills and approach to meet people’s needs. Comments included, “They know [person] very well and understand him. The staff are brilliant. The love and respect they show us is fantastic.”

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. Risks associated with infections were assessed and well managed. Relatives told us the service was kept clean and prompt action was taken if there were any unpleasant odours.

The service made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. They involved people in planning, including when changes happened. Records demonstrated people were supported to take the medicines they were prescribed. The number of medicines held matched the records. Relatives told us medicines were well managed, with comments including, “They have worked with the GP to review [person’s] medicines, which has really helped.”