Balmore Country 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

People received safe care and support. Staff understood how to report concerns regarding people’s safety. This included if they felt people may be at risk of abuse or neglect. Staff worked with other health and social care professionals to provide safe care.

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.

People told us that communication between the care home staff and other health providers was good quality. A relative said, “When [family member] had a [condition] the doctor came, and prescribed antibiotics and the home rang. They are good at keeping me informed.”

Staff had good knowledge of which health and social care professionals supported which people. Staff were able to explain when these professionals visited, and what type of support they offered. Staff knew how to monitor people’s health conditions to ensure timely referrals were made to other services. For example, if a person required a review of their diet and nutritional needs, mobility, and skin care.

Partners has no specific feedback on this area.

Staff kept clear summary documentation on people’s holistic needs. If the person required a hospital admission, this document could go with them to the hospital. This meant hospital staff would have clear guidance on how the person liked to be supported. Where people required external health and social care support, documentation showed that suitable referrals had been made. For example, where a person had an increase in the number of falls, professional advice had been requested. This helped to keep people safe.

People and relatives told us they or their family members felt safe in the care of staff. People told us there were no unlawful restrictions imposed on them. They were free to complete their own routines and live their lives as they wished. Some people would be at risk if they did not have continuous supervision and control, where this was the case, we saw staff had applied the suitable Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. These safeguards ensure people who cannot consent to their care arrangements in a care home or hospital are protected if those arrangements deprive them of their liberty.

Staff understood how to respond to allegations of abuse. Staff told us that they had no concerns about the conduct of other staff, but if they did, they were confident the management team would act appropriately. Staff were confident in using whistleblowing processes if they felt concerns was not being responded to. The registered manager understood how to respond to allegations of abuse. They could explain the process they followed of how to investigate incidents to ensure people’s continued safety.

Our observations raised no concerns regarding safeguarding at this service. People were well looked after by staff.

If an allegation of abuse was made, there were appropriate policies in place to guide the staff team. Records showed that incidents were quickly investigated and referred to the local authority safeguarding team if needed. Following these referrals, if there were any actions recommended for the provider to improve people’s safety, these had been followed and acted on. The registered manager had a good understanding of duty of candour legislation and ensured any errors made by staff would be acted on, relevant people informed, and apologies provided. Safe processes were in place to ensure when people were supported to go out into their local community, they were kept safe from the risk of abuse.

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