The Dales

We found the following examples of good practice The service facilitated visiting in-line with government guidance. Procedures were in place for all visitors entering the service. Appropriate checks were carried out to prevent visitors spreading infection on entering the premises.

The registered manager and deputy manager recognised the importance of contact with friends and family to people's wellbeing. Alternatives to in-person visiting, such as virtual visits and telephone calls were supported.

Staff understood and followed good Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) procedures, which helped protect people from the risk of infection. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was available throughout the service. Used and soiled PPE was disposed of in-line with best practice guidance.

IPC procedures were understood and audits were regularly completed to monitor IPC practice across the service. The provider did not have an IPC policy in place, the registered manager and deputy manager agreed to develop and implement this.

The service was clean and free from malodour. Regular cleaning following a cleaning schedule helped to reduce the risk of people catching or spreading COVID-19.

Cohorting was used to good effect in the service. Cohorting is a way of separating people that live at the service that have COVID-19 from those that do not, with the aim of preventing the spread of infection. This helped to reduce the risk of transmitting infection.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found