Working at Florence House

Out of the 7 people whose medicines we assessed, we found errors with 4 of them. These had not been identified by the provider, and no action had been taken to investigate.

This had impacted on how staff and teams worked together, leading to a poor culture and low staff morale. A staff survey had been completed in May which reflected the low morale and poor culture.

From reviewing the staff rotas, we identified 12 shifts out of 21 where staffing levels were less than what the provider had assessed the service as requiring to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.

Staff had not consistently received the training they required to support people and their specific needs, particularly in relation to autistic people and people living with a learning disability. Staff told us the training they did receive was not wholly effective.

There had been a number of managers in the last year after the long-standing manager left. These managers lacked experience, skills and knowledge to support consistently with confidence and clarity.

There was no goal setting or independence planning to equip people with life skills. People who needed support to access the community and take part in activities were not always able to do this when they wanted due to staffing levels.