1 Stratton Road

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 our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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 told us they had received an assessment of needs document and they were supported to take ownership of this. People also told us that the manager involved them when assessing their needs. One leader confirmed this by saying ‘we strive to ensure people understand and have a say in how they want their care to be delivered and that starts by assessing their needs’.

People’s needs were regularly reviewed by the staff team and the person to ensure that they received the most up to date person centred support.

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.

Staff had completed nationally recognised specialist training for people with a learning disability and autistic people. Staff were positive about their training and felt it enabled them to understand people better. The registered manager told us they had had some difficulty in accessing a specific level two training course but they were in the process of arranging for it to be delivered.

The service had information about people’s specific health conditions from previous care placements and used these when planning people’s on-going support. This helped to ensure care was planned in line with current best practice guidance.

The manager told us they had access to good practice information through the provider’s website, including updates on changes in legislation. The manager said they had focused on implementing guidance to reduce restrictions for people, which had resulted in increases to people’s quality of life and a reduction of incidents. Staff told us, “Since spaces have been made larger and more personal for individuals, we can absolutely see the reduction in anxiety”. This meant people’s ongoing care and treatment had a positive effect.

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.

Staff told us there was good communication amongst the team and we observed staff working together to meet people’s needs. Examples included work with the local authority and mental health teams to ensure people’s needs were put first and to ensure continuity of person-centred work.

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 needs for care and support.

Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s health needs and said they had the guidance they needed to provide effective support. Information about people’s health needs were reflected in their support plans. One person’s plan set out how to support them effectively when they were experiencing periods of ill health. This included dietary preferences, and changes to how they took their medication, as well as how to maintain family contact throughout these times of ill health.

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.

Staff maintained records of the care they had provided and observations of people. , For example, one person was supported to receive support within the home rather than as an outpatient in another setting. Another person was supported to regularly host their family members, this included planning and cooking a meal for them. Another person was supported to independently manage their own laundry. Records demonstrated changes were shared with health and social care professionals where needed.

The provider carefully explained to people what their rights around consent were, made sure they fully understood them and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

Of the 3 staff we spoke to, all demonstrated an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act and what consent meant. People told us staff asked for consent. Staff understood the need to follow the best interest decision making process if people were assessed to lack capacity to consent to a specific decision. Comments included “I am led by the person, it’s not about assuming everyone lacks capacity, even if they need support with certain aspects” and “I always try to value their decision”.

Staff spoke to us about least restrictive measures and gave examples of how they were thoughtful in their support of people. They said they asked for consent and checked to ensure people were happy with the care provided. During our assessment we saw staff asking people for permission to support them with their personal care needs.