Dovecote Residential Care Home

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. At the last inspection we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 83 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them. The registered manager ensured the assessments were completed in a timely manner and were accurate. These were used as the basis for the care records. The care records clearly detailed people’s needs. Staff actively used the assessment to understand people’s ongoing needs. For example, they had explored with one person the distress they experienced and how these could be elevated. The work staff completed assisted everyone to understand how best to support the person and this had led to a marked reduction of their distress. The staff routinely checked people were satisfied with the service and whether any needs had changed. A person said, “I really like it here. They really listen to what you want and make sure it happens.”

The service always 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. They worked to develop evidence-based good practice and standards. Staff ensured best practice guidance was obtained and followed, for example ‘sing for the brain’ is known to assist people with dementia retain their skills. We also observed staff followed best practice around dementia care so stepped in to meet people’s needs, which had led to people retaining their communication and social skills. A relative said, “The carers have helped us work out that just before lunch is the best time to visit, so that [person’s name] doesn’t get so anxious when we leave and they (staff) can distract her. The carers know that routine is really important to mum, so they organise her day.” Staff worked closely with people and in very creative ways, to ensure they had balanced and nutritious diets. The catering team were always at hand during mealtimes to check if people were happy. They let people know in advance what was on the menu and would take requests for different options. People were extremely complimentary about the food and discussed how responsive the catering staff were to their requests. A person said, “[Person’s name] appetite has been up and down through all this (recent health dip) but they will cook her whatever she wants, cut it up into small pieces for her or even help her to eat if she wants that.”

The service 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. Staff worked closely with other agencies and professionals such as physiotherapists, Speech and Language Therapy teams and occupational therapists to support people reach their potential. The activity co-ordinators and housekeepers, along with the staff team, were passionate about providing a programme of events which were tailored to everyone’s tastes. They had brought in external professionals to run weekly chair exercise classes. Staff had learnt how to run ‘sing for your brain’ sessions and routinely danced, sang and played musical instruments with people. A professional said, “I have a good working relationship with the staff and they always seek advice when needed.”

The service always supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to fully maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. Staff liaised with external health and social care professionals to ensure people received consistent care and support. They had engaged with wider professionals such as those delivering bespoke services for people with dementia. People, relatives and professionals reported individuals had experienced extremely positive outcomes since moving to the service because staff approaches were encouraging people to retain their skills and engage more with others. Staff work as a team to ensure people’s support needs were met. People reported individuals had experienced positive outcomes because the service. A relative said, “When [person’s name] was at home I was constantly worried, I’m not worried now. It couldn’t be a better place. I feel so at ease now, as they are so much calmer and seem more like their old self.” A person said, “I was pretty close to dying, the doctor said so, I asked her. I think being here is keeping me well, due to the care.”

The service 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. We observed people were really engaged in these activities and relatives reported since moving to the home and enjoying these sessions people’s level of functioning had improved. They were more social and their social facades were being maintained so they routinely chatted to people about want was going on in the home. A person said, “If I need anything I get it. If I’m poorly they are there to help. There’s always a staff member to take you to appointments. The doctor comes in, I’ve met her dog, she comes in every week and the nurse is on standby all the time. I love to be here.”

The service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act and associated codes of practice. They appropriately completed capacity assessments and ‘best interests’ decisions. People made their own choices and decisions on a day-to-day basis about what they did, what they ate and how they filled their time. Where people were not able to verbally communicate their choices, there were tailored communication plans for staff to follow, to ensure people were in control of their own lives.