Avant (Sutton)

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• 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

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.

This is the first assessment for this service since their registration in June 2024. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

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.

The provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

People, and others involved in their care, had been involved in assessments of their care and support needs. People’s choices and preferences were listened to and used to plan their care and support needs. One person told us, “The manager discussed my needs and did an assessment when the care plan was done. My views were listened to and I got my views across. They were very good at listening and took my vulnerability on board.” A relative said, “I was initially involved in discussing [family member’s] care needs with Avant. As [family member] got worse those needs have changed and my views and instructions to them have been followed. I have a document to say what they will do at visits.” A staff member told us, “I love that we encourage the individuals we support to make their own choices whenever possible. We respect their preferences, whether it’s about daily routines, meals, or other aspects of their care.” Managers made sure information about people’s care and support needs was regularly assessed, monitored and reviewed so that people’s care plans remained up to date with information about their current needs.

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

People were involved in planning their care and support. The care and support planned for them was specific to their individual needs. Staff were supported through training and supervision to deliver care and support to people in line with legislation, good practice and standards. One person told us, “(Staff) are well trained and good at health and safety. They know about food hygiene. They know how to handle me in the shower. The manager is very hot on training and safeguarding.” A staff member said, “Regular training and supervision meetings help me stay up to date with best practice, including safeguarding, medication administration, and infection control.” Managers regularly assessed, monitored and reviewed people’s needs which helped them make sure care and support continued to be delivered in line with people’s individual preferences.

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services.

People were supported by staff that worked well with each other and with other services. This helped to ensure a joined up, consistent approach to delivering safe and effective care to people in line with their individual needs. A staff member told us, “We receive clear, well-documented care plans and communication is great between team members. This makes it easier to understand individual needs and provide the right support.” A healthcare professional said, “I have a very positive working relationship with the care co-ordinators in the office who go out of their way for my clients. They are very communicative and we work well together to address and make changes to care packages. I have always found them flexible, willing to support and always available for professional meetings.”

The provider supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future need for care and support.

People’s records contained current information about their individual healthcare needs and how these should be met. This helped staff support people to stay healthy and well in line with their needs and wishes. Where this support was provided, staff made sure people ate and drank enough to meet their needs. One person told us, “Yes they help me. My manual dexterity is poor. They help me to heat up the food. I tell them how long to heat the food. They do anything for you. I can eat and drink myself. I have to have food cut up as I could choke and carers will cut it up for me. The food is my own choice.” Staff made sure people received prompt help and support when they became unwell. One person told us, “Once they found me unwell and contacted the hospital and got an ambulance. They phoned my nephew.” Another person said, “I was feeling poorly with chest and urine infections. One of the carers realised I wasn’t steady and told me. That was really good. I phoned the doctor.”

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

People’s care plans set out the goals and outcomes people wished to achieve from the care and support provided by staff. Staff maintained records after each care call of the care and support provided to people and their observations about people’s health and wellbeing. Managers reviewed these records at regular intervals. This helped them monitor the care and support provided to people to make sure this was helping people achieve their care goals and outcomes.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

People told us staff sought their consent before providing care and support. One person told us, “They do ask my permission before doing things.” A relative said, “Yes, they ask what [family member] wants when they come in. They don’t do what she doesn’t want.” Staff made sure people understood their rights around consent before supporting them. A staff member told us, “I do make sure people can consent to their care and treatment by verbally letting them know what I am doing for them, so that they can understand what I am doing for them or writing it for them to have the idea of what I am doing for them, because I believe working together or making them understand what I am doing for them will make them happy.”

The service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). The provider had systems in place to ensure mental capacity assessments had been completed with people and others involved in their care. People’s capacity and ability to consent was taken into account, and people had been involved in planning their care and support. Where people could not make decisions and consent to their care, processes were in place to make sure any decisions would be made in their best interests.