Meadowyrthe

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 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 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 provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them. However, some care plans contained conflicting information.

Care plans were in-depth and contained person centred information. However, some care plans contained people’s historical information. This conflicted with sections in the care plan which recorded people’s current needs. This increased the risk of confusion and error amongst staff.

The provider responded to our feedback by removing the conflicting information. In addition, the provider shared their action plan with us which detailed how care plans were planned to be audited, reviewed and quality monitored going forward.

Relatives told us the provider assessed people’s needs. One relative said, “I have had a lot of dealing with [a member of the management team]. They were very helpful. They got to know my [my family member] and find out about their likes and dislikes.”

Staff told us they had access to people’s care plans, and they told us about people’s needs without referring to documentation. This demonstrated staff knew people well.

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them.

Relatives told us the provider met people’s care requirements, including nutritional needs. One relative said, “The staff are nice and meet [my family member’s] needs. They support [my family member] to eat their meals and have a choice of what to eat.” One person told us, “The food is lovely.”

A visiting professional told us, “Relatives are invited to have lunch with their loved ones at Meadowyrthe and I know this is well thought of by the relatives. They have told us this during review meetings.”

Staff told us how they monitored people safely. One staff member said, “When people require personal care it's all recorded electronically, it works well. People are not left long; we get prompted when people need support.”

We observed staff responding and meeting people’s needs. Where people required support such as regular repositioning or weight monitoring, this was clearly documented.

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people.

Relatives told us the provider worked with other professionals to ensure joined-up care. One relative told us how the provider was working with specialists to assist their family member's communication.

Staff told us they worked well as a team and shared examples of where they worked with other professionals such as district nurses.

Visiting professionals told us the provider effectively communicated with them. One visiting professional told us, “The team has demonstrated excellent communication, particularly around scheduling and coordinating visits. They are prompt in providing necessary records, which has greatly supported us.” Another visiting professional told us, “I find the management team at Meadowyrthe responsive. They reply to my emails and calls quickly.”

We observed handovers taking place between staff where risks to people were openly discussed and passed over. We reviewed minutes of team meetings and handovers; these confirmed the staff team worked effectively together.

Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

People told us they were supported to access health services when required. One person said, “I am able to see a doctor when needed.”

One relative told us their family member was eating more, and their health had improved since moving into the home. People told us they enjoyed their meals, and we observed mealtimes, these were a social event, where people were supported appropriately.

Staff told us about people’s needs and how they encouraged people to live healthier lives.

Care plans contained information regarding people’s health and how they were to be supported to maintain and improve their health.

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it.

People told us their health had improved since moving into the home. One person said, “I love it here, they [staff] always help me. I struggled to look after myself before moving here, I wasn’t very well but they [staff] helped me, and I got better.”

Staff told us about people’s improving health. One staff member said, “I have seen improvements in people's health, for example 1 person was always in a wheelchair but they could walk if encouraged, we encouraged [the person] to walk more, eventually their mobility improved.”

Where people required parts of their health monitored such as bowels or fluids, there were systems in place to clearly monitor these aspects.

Where 1 person was cared for in bed, the provider showed us how they were working in partnership with other health professionals to support the person safely out of bed so that they could join others in communal areas to improve their health and wellbeing, the provider purchased additional equipment to support with this.

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

People told us staff respect their choices and decisions. One person said, “I can do what I want. If I want a cup of tea, they [staff] get it for me. I can get up and go to bed when I want to. I like to get up early and have a cup of tea, they [staff] help me.” Another person told us how the staff always asked permission before supporting them.

Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves.

Staff empowered people to make their own decisions about their care and support. We observed staff speaking to people respectfully and asking people whether they needed assistance with tasks. One staff member said, “I promote people's choices, for example when they want to go to bed, if they want to have a cup of tea in the middle of the night, it's up to them. We never force them, it's their choice. We can't force people to do something they don’t want to do.”

Assessments of people’s mental capacity and best interest meetings had taken place to ensure decisions made were appropriate and least restrictive. This related to the decisions concerning where a person should live and personal care.