Treetops

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question as Good. At this assessment the rating has remained Good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

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 were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

People’s care plans fully reflected their physical, mental, emotional and social needs, including those related to protected characteristics under the Equality Act.

People were regularly involved in planning and making shared decisions about their care and treatment, so it was centred around them and their needs.

Staff supported people to understand their situation as far as possible, including care and treatment options. Where people lacked the mental capacity to understand those issues there were arrangements in place to ensure appropriate best interest decisions were made on the person’s behalf.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

People’s specific health and social care needs were assessed and recorded in people’s individual care plans. The provider understood the diverse health and social care needs of their local communities, including those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

The registered manager and staff worked well with other agencies to make sure people’s needs were met. For example, an external health care professional told us, “Treetops staff, particularly management, know their residents well and when I attend are always able to provide a good overview and handover for each resident. The service will also communicate with appropriate professionals in a timely way to provide updates and highlight any concerns.”

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

People’s individual communication needs were assessed and recorded in their care plans as a guide for staff to refer to when needed. The provider was able to give people information in a range of different formats or languages if that was identified as a communication need for a person.

The registered manager had also introduced small push button devices which gave audio descriptions of documents. These devices were placed around the care home, for example next to a complaint poster. This meant even if a person could not read the poster, they could press the button on the device and hear how they could make a complaint if they needed to.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

People, and their family, felt confident that if they complained, they would be taken seriously and treated compassionately. A person’s relative told us, “I know the manager and I would speak to them if I had a problem, I prefer to deal with just one person. I have not had to complain, but I know I would just go and speak to someone in the office, or the manager if I needed to.”

The provider had a complaints policy and procedure in place and also displayed complaint posters around the care home. The registered manager had installed audio devices, containing verbal summaries of the complaint procedure, available next to the posters. This meant people who had difficulty reading would be able to hear about the complaint procedure by pressing the button on the audio device.

The registered manager saw learning from complaints and concerns as an opportunity for improvement and regarded this as a positive process.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

The provider and their staff were alert to discrimination and inequality that could disadvantage different groups of people in accessing care, treatment, and support, whether this was from the wider society, within organisational processes and culture, or from individuals.

People had equal access to care, treatment and support because the provider complied with legal equality and human rights requirements, including avoiding discrimination, considering the needs of people with different protected characteristics and making reasonable adjustments.

People were supported in a care home building which was accessible to them. The building had been adapted to meet the needs of the people living there.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

The provider ensured their staff received training specifically in relation to supporting autistic people and people with a learning disability. Staff also received training in equality and diversity awareness.

The registered manager monitored and evaluated the outcomes of people living at the care home, including people with a learning disability and autistic people. The registered manager understood some people may not be able to use public transport or might choose not to. As the care home was situated in a semi-rural village location, arrangements were in place for people to use the provider’s own vehicle if they wished. This helped to reduce barriers for people to go out if they wanted to.

The registered manager told us the service supported people who identified as being from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other sexual orientations (LGBTQ+) community to feel they could be open about this and were supported to express their sexual identity if they wished.

The registered manager ensured staff received awareness training in relation to the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equalities Act 2010, the Mental Health Act 1983 and Mental Capacity Act 2005. This helped ensure staff understood how to support and enable equity in people’s experiences and outcomes.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

People were supported to make informed choices about their needs and plan their future care while they had the capacity to do so. The provider had an end-of-life policy and procedures which would guide staff in the event of this being necessary.

People’s decisions, about what mattered to them, were delivered through personalised end of life care plans that were shared with others who may need to be informed. When people wanted to express their wishes about cardiopulmonary resuscitation, they were supported to do so and were able to change their mind if they wished.