Longmead 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 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 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 manager made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

We were told that, prior to the manager taking up their post, people’s needs had not always been formally assessed or recorded before they moved into the home. We found the manager had improved the assessment process, which meant people’s needs were assessed prior to them moving to the home, which enabled the manager to be confident staff could provide the care they needed.

Staff worked with other professionals to assess and plan for people's needs, and to monitor these to help ensure people stayed healthy and well. The manager ensured staff had access to information about good practice and how to provide effective, evidence-based care. Staff told us they received the support they needed to understand and implement this.

People's nutrition and hydration needs were met. The cook understood people’s individual dietary needs and preferences, and planned the menu to take account of these. One person said of the cook, "She is very good. There are certain foods I cannot tolerate, so she checks with me what I want."

Relatives told us the quality of food had improved significantly since the current cook had been in post. One relative said, “Since [member of staff] has been doing the cooking, the food has been much better. It has improved 100%. She is always trying to find things [family member] likes.”

People only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services.

The manager had introduced an allocation for each shift, which meant the responsibility for providing each person’s care was assigned to an individual member of staff. This helped ensure accountability for the delivery of people’s care.

Staff beginning their shift received a handover from staff completing the previous shift, at which they were given information about people’s wellbeing and any changes to their care and support. A member of staff told us, “We always have a handover. They let us know how the residents have been in the night, have they done their personal care, if anyone has had a fall, or if anyone is on a new medication. If they have had a bad night, we keep an eye on them.”

Staff said they supported one another well and that there was a good sense of teamwork at the home. A member of agency staff told us they liked working at the home because staff treated them as colleagues and ensured they had all the information and support she needed. The member of agency staff said, "They do not treat me differently, I am part of the team."

The manager 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 told us the manager supported them to access healthcare services if they needed them. One person said, "If I am not well, I tell [manager]; he will contact the GP if I need to see them."

Relatives told us their family members were supported to see healthcare professionals when required. One relative said, “[Family member] has had her eyes checked and seen the chiropodist. They would arrange for the GP to come and see her if necessary.”

The manager 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.

We saw evidence that referrals were made to specialist healthcare professionals when necessary to ensure people’s needs were met. For example, a referral had been made to the speech and language therapy team for a person who had developed difficulties in swallowing.

Some people told us the manager had supported them to achieve good healthcare outcomes. One person said, "[Manager] got me into hospital with my hip. I went 3 years waiting for a hip replacement. He pushed and pushed to get me into hospital."

The manager and staff respected people’s rights around consent and their decisions about their care and treatment. Staff understood the need to seek people’s consent on a daily basis before providing their care.

The manager ensured people had appropriate representation when decisions about their care were being made. People’s families were encouraged to attend any assessments or reviews and to contribute their views.