Sheerwater House

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’s needs were assessed before they moved into the home. Pre-admission assessments recorded people’s preferences about how they wished to be supported as well as their care needs.

People and their relatives told us they had been able to contribute to their assessments and subsequent care plans.

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 used nationally recognised assessment tools to monitor people’s health and determine their care needs. This included assessing and monitoring the risk of sustaining pressure damage and failing to maintain adequate nutrition.

People’s nutrition and hydration needs were met in line with current guidance. If people needed texture-modified diets or thickened fluids, these were prepared in line with the good practice guidelines used by prescribing professionals.

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. Plans for transition and discharge considered people’s individual needs, circumstances, and expected outcomes.

Staff had access to the information they needed to deliver people’s care and support safely and effectively. People’s care plans contained guidance for staff about how people preferred to receive their care in addition to their needs.

Staff shared information and updates about people’s needs at handovers between shifts to ensure they were kept informed of any changes. When necessary, staff sought the input of community healthcare professionals to ensure people received the care they needed, such as district nurses, speech and language therapists, or mental health professionals.

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.

People told us staff supported them to access healthcare professionals when needed. One person said, “The doctor visits if you are not feeling well. There is a chiropodist, an optician visited too, and a dentist. I had my eyes tested a few weeks ago.”

The provider 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 ensured people’s healthcare conditions were monitored effectively. For example, one person was supported to monitor and record their blood sugars. Other people needed to have fluid levels or bowel movements monitored and we saw this was taking place. Some people who were at risk failing to of poor nutrition had been supported to maintain a healthy weight by the introduction of fortified nutrition.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. Staff provided people’s care in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This included assuming people had the capacity to make decisions about their care unless an assessment had determined otherwise. One member of staff told us, “You have to assume they are able to make a decision. If they cannot make a decision, then you do an assessment.”

We saw that mental capacity assessments had been carried out where necessary, and that where these had identified people did not have the capacity to make an informed decision, appropriate procedures had been followed to ensure decisions were made in people’s best interests.