Key Point Agency

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

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 newly registered service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The agency assessed people’s needs and choices so they could design care which met these needs. People were involved in the assessments and their choices and views were recorded. There were regular reassessments of care and people were invited to give feedback about their experiences. The provider created care plans. Copies of these were available in people’s homes.

The agency supported staff to provide evidence-based care by providing a range of training and guidance. The staff told us this had been helpful with 1 member of staff commenting, “The training we get is one of the best things about the agency.” The staff had undertaken basic training about supporting people with a learning disability. The registered manager told us they were sourcing additional training for all staff before the agency started supporting people with a learning disability.

Staff sometimes helped prepare people’s meals. A relative told us they were happy with this aspect of the care. They said, “The staff know how to prepare food from our culture, and this is what [person] wants. This is important to us.”

There were effective systems for staff to work together and communicate with each other. The care staff and registered manager confirmed they had regular contact via phone and in person to share information. Comments from the staff included, “The manager checks in and makes sure we are ok, they talk about [people we support] and ask if we have any concerns” and “I get a call about every 2 days to ask about me and about the client.’’ Staff shared concerns and feedback about their experiences with the registered manager so they could improve care planning and ensure people received consistency of care.

The agency did not directly support people with making healthcare appointments, although the staff told us they sometimes accompanied people to these. At the time of our assessment, relatives confirmed that people using the service could advocate for themselves and did not need the staff to assist with healthcare needs. The provider did not always have detailed information about people’s health conditions, including signs and symptoms staff should be aware of in case of a decline in their health related to these conditions. We discussed this with the registered manager who agreed to provide more information for staff. Relatives told us they thought the staff were good at monitoring people’ health and responding if they were unwell.

The provider monitored outcomes for people. The staff kept records to show how they had cared for and supported people at each visit, as well as how the person was feeling. The registered manager checked and audited these records to make sure care was provided in line with the care plan. People and their relatives were asked for regular feedback. They confirmed this and explained they were able to speak up if they felt unhappy with something.

People were asked to consent to their care and treatment as well as sign their care plans and assessments to show their agreement. Relatives confirmed that people using the service at the time of our assessment had the mental capacity to make decisions about their own care. The staff told us they had undertaken training about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and understood the principles of this to offer choice and obtain consent when providing care.