Barton House

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 inspection we rated this key question requires improvement. At this inspection the rating has changed to good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

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.

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. Advice was sought from external health professionals where appropriate.

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. A healthcare professional told us, “Barton House has had times where the complex needs of a patient has been that of a Nursing home but they have managed these patients well with support and have realised that a face to face assessment is needed before accepting placements.”

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. There had been no recent safeguarding concerns. Staff had completed safeguarding training and knew how to raise concerns. People told us they felt safe, and people’s relatives were confident staff treated people with kindness and respect. One relative told us, “The staff have a nice attitude with her. They are very kind and caring.”

The service worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. They provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them. Systems were in place to assess and regularly review people’s risks, and staff worked with people to support them. One person told us how staff monitor their skin, which is prone to redness. They said, “Staff keep an eye and put cream on straight away.” People’s relatives told us they were kept up to date with information about people’s risks, and how they were being managed. One relative said, “If she has any little falls, they ring me and let me know.”

The service detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. Systems were in place to check equipment and replace or repair as required. The service was well maintained with safety measures such as window restrictors. External contractors had been engaged to provide safety reports, and actions had been taken on their findings. We identified two areas of concern during this assessment; hot pipes which constituted a scald risk and a fire escape which posed a risk off falls. The registered manager took immediate action to address both concerns to ensure the environmental risks we identified were mitigated.

The service made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. They worked together well to provide safe care that met people’s individual needs. Systems were in place to ensure staff were recruited safely and completed all appropriate training including a thorough induction. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and agency staff were rarely required. People and their relatives felt confident in the care staff provided. One person said, “The staff are all wonderful, they can’t do enough for you.” A relative told us, “All the carers are incredible. The staff are always proactive. Anything she needs they attend to it.” Another relative said, “They all seem to know what they are doing!”

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. There was a nominated infection control lead, and systems were in place to ensure routine cleaning was completed. Appropriate personal protective equipment was available to staff and the provider had invested in air filters to neutralise bacteria. The Laundry had been refurbished and clean clothes were stored separately to dirty laundry, minimising the risk of cross contamination. Staff had completed infection control training.

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. People’s medicines were stored and administered safely. Senior staff had good oversight of the medicines administration systems and followed up any issues promptly, in addition to routine auditing. Stock was well managed and safely stored. People’s medicines records contained clear information about each medicine, including variable doses. Staff who administered medicines had completed training and had their competency assessed. We observed medicines being administered in line with good practice, and with kindness and patience.