Access for Living

At this inspection, we looked at the quality statements of safe environments and staffing to assess if the provider had taken significant action to improve the concerns we found in relation to fire evacuation plans. We found that the provider did not always control potential risks in the care environment. People had personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) in place, and these detail the support a person would need to leave the service in the case of an emergency. The service also had fire risk assessments in place which included evacuation plans for the service in place. However, we saw PEEPs for 2 people which stated they required the assistance of 2 staff members to be safely evacuated due to their mobility support needs requiring them to use equipment to aid movement. However, the PEEPs then went on to say it would not be safe for these people to be evacuated from the building in this manner. The fire risk assessment had recommended a full evacuation of all people using the service, however PEEPs advised in the case of an emergency, staff were to ensure people’s individual doors were shut, and to notify the emergency service of their location upon arrivals. This went against the recommendation of the fire risk assessment and put people at the risk of avoidable harm.

We raised these concerns with the management team. Additional safety measures were quickly put into place for the 2 people who would require assistance to be evacuated due to their mobility support needs. These measures included installing evacuation mats, and a misting system into their bedrooms, as well as additional training for staff.