Highbury Nursing Home

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 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 care documentation contained person centred details about their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs. This supported staff to maintain a good understanding of how people wanted and needed to be supported. People’s care needs were routinely reviewed to make sure they were up to date. Guidance about people’s healthcare needs contained a good level of detail to support staff to recognise signs of increased risk or deterioration quickly.

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 nutritional and hydration needs were met and those we spoke with told us they were happy with the quality of the food provided to them. We saw people asking for drinks and being offered drinks and snacks when they wanted them. Staff knew about people’s individual needs and preferences around their meals and drinks. A person who had specific dietary requirements told us they felt well catered for and were given plenty of choice. We saw people were given plenty of support to eat their meals when it was needed. People were supported to manage their risks around nutrition. For example, people with diabetes had their blood sugars monitored to ensure the food on offer was safe and appropriate for them.

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 staff team used a template for sharing information between shifts with different teams. This template contained key health information and risks important to each person. This enabled staff to readily remind themselves of people’s key risks and needs. Staff we spoke with were positive about their colleagues and told us they worked well together as a team. Staff also told us they felt the quality of people’s care documentation was good and that records were easy to access if needed.

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 told us about the various ways in which they helped people to monitor their day-to-day health and wellbeing. Most people and relatives we spoke with felt they were supported to achieve positive outcomes. Care records detailed what people could do for themselves to promote their own wellbeing and what support they might need from staff. For example, people were supported to do what they could to provide their own oral healthcare, but if they needed support or prompting this detail was included. This helped people to take an active part in promoting and sustaining their own wellbeing.

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 monitored and reviewed outcomes related to people’s health and wellbeing. For example, records showed how people’s food and fluids were being monitored if they were at risk of dehydration or weight loss. A person who wanted to lose some weight was supported to monitor this and consider healthy meal and snack options.

Staff used evidence-based tools to assess and monitor people’s wellbeing. These tools helped them to assess and monitor people’s progress and also notice any early signs of deterioration.

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

Information around the home told people about how to identify any safeguarding concerns and what they could do if they had any. There was also clear information about how to raise a complaint or share positive feedback. People’s rights and decisions around consent were understood and respected by staff. We saw examples of this, and staff told us about how they ensured people’s wishes and views were respected.

People’s care records included their wishes about future care and treatment, including what they wanted in the event of a medical emergency. These wishes were made clear in their records and were easy for staff to check as needed in an emergency.

People had mental capacity assessments to help determine what decisions they could make for themselves, and which they might need help to make. Decisions sometimes needed to be made in people’s best interests. These were made in consultation with appropriate others and were recorded to demonstrate how the person’s needs wishes and preferences had been considered.