Leighton House Retirement Home Limited

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 as good.
This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.
 

This service scored 67 (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 did not always make sure people’s care and treatment were effective because they did not always check and discuss people’s health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

The registered manager completed an assessment of people’s needs before they were offered a place at the service. Upon admission, further detailed information was gathered from the individual and their relatives. This information was used to compile care and support plans.

We saw reviews of people’s care plans; however, these did not involve relatives or the person. In addition, care and support plans did not always contain up to date information as their needs changed, for example if a person’s mobility deteriorated or their communication methods changed.

We fed this back to the registered manager who said discussions did take place with relatives and the people themselves, but we did not see this documented or reflected in people’s support plans.
 

The provider did not always plan and deliver people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them.
People told us staff had the necessary training to meet their needs. One person said, “Every member of staff can do any task that’s needed for me. They seem to be well trained.” The registered manager was proactive about ensuring staff were providing correct care, regularly communicating with and observing staff. However, care was not always tailored to people’s individual needs and reflected what was important to them. For example, one person whose care plan stated they should always wear their glasses, was observed without their glasses on and appeared to be struggling to see a jigsaw piece.
It was not clear how the registered manager ensured they were aware of changes in legislation and best practice as they were not part of any forums or online resources where this information would be shared.
People had enough to eat and drink and were encouraged to hydrate frequently.
 

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.
There was good communication within the staff team and staff worked well together to meet people’s needs. Handover meetings were held when shifts changed which ensured all staff were updated about people’s health and wellbeing. Some of this information was documented in handover sheets but expanded upon in discussion.

Systems were in place to ensure information about people was shared appropriately with other services and healthcare professionals.

The registered manager had created a document which contained all the essential information about a person’s care needs which was used when someone was admitted to hospital.
 

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 received a balanced diet with choices of food and drinks. Everyone spoke very positively about the food, saying, “Lunch is usually the hot meal - meat or fish with potatoes and vegetables followed by a dessert. Teatime also has nice choices, such as sandwiches and soup, baked potatoes, cheese on toast and things like that. The food here is excellent.”
People were encouraged to remain active where possible and with appropriate support from staff and referrals were made to appropriate health services when needed. One relative said, “The home is quick on health issues” and “They called in the GP to see (them)”.
 

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 were very familiar with the people they supported, and appropriate action was taken when any changes to their health needs were identified. Documents used to monitor people’s health were completed. A healthcare professional from the local hospice said they were confident the home would source the relevant support when needed and they had no concerns about the care provided in the home.
 

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

People’s care records contained consent forms, which covered areas such as consent to care and treatment and medication. Where people lacked the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves, decisions had been made in their best interests in accordance with the MCA by those acting on their behalf.