Pottles Court

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 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.

The service assessed people’s needs in a thorough and person‑centred way. People’s care plans were detailed, and reflected their current needs, preferences and areas of potential risk. Relatives confirmed they had been involved in the initial assessment but said they did not have a copy to review. However, they told us they were kept informed of any changes to their relative’s care.

Staff involved people in conversations about their day to day care. Clear assessments were in place covering different aspects of care including communication, physical and mental health, and daily living. These included specialist input, when required.

Relatives told us staff understood people well. Staff understood each person’s routines, triggers and what helped them feel safe. This supported people with complex needs, including individuals who found it difficult to mix with other people.

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.

The service was part of a research project with Exeter University into older adults social care. The focus of the research was older people’s experience of different types of meal provision. People and families told us the quality of the food was good with choices provided and adapted to meet individual preferences or needs.

Staff followed specialist guidance, including recommendations by the Speech and Language Therapy Team (SALT) for safe eating and drinking, and good practice approach to supporting people with meals.

People’s care plans contained detailed information about risks, triggers, communication needs and preferred routine. For example, one person’s former occupation meant they were used to sleeping late. This was respected and their meal routine adapted accordingly.

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

At intervals during the day, the registered manager met with staff and the head of care to ensure everyone on each shift was up to date with people’s current needs. We observed one of the meetings and the level of information sharing demonstrated how closely staff monitored people’s well-being and health.

Staff demonstrated their knowledge of the people they supported by recognising changes to their health. They understood their role in monitoring their experience, including their pain. They held a shared understanding of each person’s needs, which contributed to consistent care and stable routines.

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 ensured people had access to community services. For example, a visiting dentist and optician. The registered manager said they organised transport for audiology appointments but the lack of availability of wheelchair accessible transport could cause delays.

Staff said people responded well to ‘Wake Up and Shake Up’ sessions which took place 4 mornings a week. The programme was influenced by physiotherapy advice and focused on different areas of the body. Attention was also paid to people’s nail care with individual labelled clippers for each person to prevent cross infection.

People had access to a full range of health services, and staff helped them attend appointments and understand treatment plans. Care was adapted following changes in health, such as mobility difficulties or mental health needs, with evidence being seen of prompt referrals to the GP to request specialist help.

The provider did not always routinely monitor people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it.

The service monitored people’s care and used regular verbal reviews to improve outcomes for people, for example, daily handovers. However, reviews in digital records were not regular. One person had become increasingly frail due to their progressive illness resulting in unplanned weight loss. Staff confirmed how this issue was being monitored, including the use of daily food and fluid monitoring charts. However, their care plan had not been reviewed following a rapid loss of weight, and a malnutrition assessment tool had not been used to update the person’s care records. This meant although the person’s care needs were being monitored and processes were in place to encourage them to eat and drink more, the care records did not evidence this planned and considered approach.

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

We saw staff respected people’s decisions, and relatives confirmed staff worked closely with them when consent or best‑interest decisions were required. Staff were confident about escalating safeguarding or capacity concerns to external agencies when needed.

The service sought people’s consent in line with legislation and good practice. Staff understood The Mental Capacity Act 2005 and described how they presumed capacity, offered choices, and adapted their approach to help people understand decisions. Records showed relatives were asked to provide copies of lasting power of attorney documents to ensure people’s legal rights were protected.