Working at Stepping Stones

Hiring checks were incomplete and some staff started before full background checks were done, risking safety.

Two staff appeared to have started work prior to the service receiving their full Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. There was no evidence that the provider had carried out a risk assessment prior to these staff commencing their employment.

Medications were not stored securely at first, with keys accessible to all staff.

On the second day of the inspection we found some people's medicines were not being stored securely... The keys to people's medicine cabinets were stored in a place which could be accessed by all staff.

Staffing levels were not fully planned to match residents' needs, especially at night due to building layout.

The registered manager did not have an up-to-date list of people's commissioned hours. We also found the staffing levels at night had not taken account of the layout of the service.