Our House

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

People’s health, care and support needs were assessed to ensure staff could meet them and the service was suitable for people. People were supported by staff who had received appropriate training and support. The provider worked closely with other professionals and had regular contact with them to ensure people’s needs were met fully. Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). They were aware of the actions they would take if they felt a person lacked capacity to make certain decisions about their care and support.

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.

Before people started using the service, an initial assessment of their needs was undertaken, there was clear evidence that people and relatives were involved, this helped ensure that people’s needs were met.

The provider told us that referrals would come from the local authority and that the director or deputy manager would carry out an assessment promptly.

We noted that people’s needs were assessed continually and updated when change occurred. We saw care records were reviewed on a monthly and 6 monthly basis.

During our visit, we saw examples of where the home had adopted care practices which enhanced the quality of life of the people they supported. The staff looked at how they could adjust peoples’ support so they could achieve positive outcomes for people such as using the community safely. The service also supported people to go on holiday.

Staff and the management team had a good understanding of the care needs for people they supported. Staff showed us their systems in place to ensure people received food and drink regularly to maintain their health. We saw that there were forms in place to monitor people’s weight and food and drink intake.

We saw systems and practices in place that supported good care for people who used the service. We found that the provider was using approaches to support that resulted in good outcomes for people.

We saw evidence that the staff worked with partner agencies. People were supported to visit their GP when needed and written notes were recorded by staff of the visit and the outcome of the appointment.

Staff told us that they supported people arrange medical appointment and accompanied them to hospital and other health appointments.

We received positive feedback from the GP practice manager regarding how the staff supported people with their appointments.

We found that the service ensured people were supported correctly and in line with their care plans and this helped to ensure consistency in how people were care for.

During our visit we saw good quality food being served. The food was freshly cooked with healthy portions. People were able to choose the food they wanted to eat. We saw that menu were completed for people.

Staff told us they supported people to eat healthy food and offered people a choice of vegetables and that food was cooked freshly. We saw that people could access the kitchen with staff support. The fridge and food units had plenty of food for people to have.

Staff were aware of people’s food preferences and acted in accordance with people’s wishes. Care plans included people’s preferences and the support they may require with meals. We saw and the provider told us about how they worked alongside health professionals such as GP to help review people’s health.

Staff responded quickly to changes in people’s health which meant that they received medical support when they needed it, and this lowered the risk of people being admitted into hospitals.

Staff understood how to support people to achieve outcomes and improving their skills. For example, a staff said, “It's important to support people to achieve the best outcome as possible such as teaching someone new skills.”

The service had a number of processes in place to monitor and identify positive outcomes for people. We saw minutes were in place for staff meetings and family meetings with clear actions.

People had consent forms in place and relatives were involved with supporting their loved ones in making decisions.

Staff told us that they always ask people if they were happy to receive their care and support before they gave support. For example, one staff said before personal care was carried out, they explained to the person what support was being given and if they were happy for this to take place.

We saw that people and relatives were involved with care review and care folders held consent information around sharing information with other professionals and relatives. We saw best interest forms in place for each person. This covered a range of important decisions and provided information on how the person was involved in the best course of action for them.