Penbownder 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 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.

People’s capacity to make decision had been appropriately assessed and the service now operated in accordance with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act.

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 registered manager 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 identified and assessed before they moved into Penbownder. The registered manager told us, “We always complete an assessment of people before they move in to make sure they are going to fit in.” Care plans were developed from the information gathered during the assessment process and any information shared by previous care providers.
In the mental health unit, smoking was limited to outside areas and at a rate of no more than one cigarette per hour. This rule was clearly explained to everyone as part of the assessment process before people decided to move in.

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.

People’s care plans were accurate, sufficiently informative and had been regularly reviewed. They gave staff the information they needed to provide effective support. This included guidance on how to share information and communicate effectively with people.

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.

The service engaged positively with health and social care professionals to ensure people’s needs were met. People had access to GP’s, dentists and specialist nursing teams as required.

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 were complimentary of the food provided and told us, “the food is fine”, “we get plenty of food” and “the food is lovely, I had salad and chips for lunch, my favourite.” One relative said, “[My relative] is eating better since they moved in, their weight is stabilizing and is under control”. On the day of the inspection a new menu option was being trialled. This had been popular in the mental health unit but some people in the older person’s service had struggled due to the size of the portion served. The manager and cook intended to gather and review people’s feedback on this dish following the inspection.
Where necessary people’s food and fluid intake was monitored by staff. Where people were identified as at risk of weight loss, advice had been appropriately sought from professionals and acted upon.
In the mental health unit, people were supported to access the community regularly and managers told us people in the older person’s service were able to access areas of the garden during periods of favourable weather.

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

Monitoring records were accurately completed when required. Food and fluid charts included individual targets for fluid intake and additional fluids were offered whenever people’s intake fell near or below target.

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

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. The MCA requires that, as far as possible, people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. When they lack mental capacity to take particular decisions, any made on their behalf must be in their best interests and as least restrictive as possible.

People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment when this is in their best interests and legally authorised under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). In care homes, and some hospitals, this is usually through MCA application procedures called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

The provider had assessed individual’s ability to make specific decisions. Where people lacked capacity and their freedoms were restricted appropriate applications had been made. Staff understood the importance of respecting people’s choices and relatives told us, “The staff always look for consent before doing anything.”