18 October 2022 /19 October 2022
During a routine inspection
We rated it as good because:
Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect children and young people from abuse, and managed safety well. Staff controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to children and young people, acted on them and kept good care records. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of children and young people, advised them and their families on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.
Staff treated children and young people with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to children and young people, families and carers.
The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of children and young people’s individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback.
Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of children and young people receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with children, young people and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.
However:
Although the service had enough staff to care for children and young people and keep them safe, caseloads were high.
Staff did not complete all statutory visits required in the health child programme within the allocated timescales. Under this programme staff are required to carry out mandatory visits at key points in a child’s life. For example, the compliance levels for the 2-2.5 year visit was at 55% and the new born visit compliance was 31% within 14 days, however, the service had agreed with the commissioners extend this target by an extra 7 days to achieve this contact and this enabled staff to see 97% of new births in the 21 days. The service had implemented a range of measure to mitigate the impact of not carrying out these visits in the required timescales and had plans in place to work towards carrying out the mandated visits within the required timescales.
Not everyone who used the service knew how to complain. However, everyone we spoke to told us they felt they could complain if they needed to and that it would be taken seriously.