Allington House - Bournemouth

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• 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

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.

Staff assessed the physical and mental health of all clients on admission. They developed individual care plans which were reviewed regularly through multidisciplinary discussion and updated as needed. Staff provided a range of treatment and care for clients based on national guidance and best practice. The team included or had access to the full range of specialists required to meet the needs of clients in the service. Staff from different disciplines worked together as a team to benefit clients.

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

We have not awarded this service a score for Effective.

Find out about when we will not publish a key question score and what we look at when we assess Effective.

We reviewed four care and treatment records and saw that staff completed a comprehensive mental health assessment of the client in a timely manner at, or soon after, admission. This also included screening for blood borne viruses.

Staff assessed clients’ physical health needs in a timely manner after admission.

Staff developed care plans that met the needs identified during assessment.

Care plans were personalised, holistic and recovery-oriented.

Staff updated care plans when necessary.

Staff provided a range of care and treatment interventions suitable for the client group. The interventions were those recommended by, and were delivered in line with, guidance from the NICE. These included medication and psychological therapies.

Staff ensured that clients had access to physical healthcare, including access to specialists when needed.

Staff participated in clinical audit, benchmarking and quality improvement initiatives.

The team included or had access to the full range of specialists required to meet the needs of clients in the service.

Staff were experienced and qualified, and had the right skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the client group.

Managers provided new staff with appropriate induction.

Managers provided staff with supervision (meetings to discuss case management, to reflect on and learn from practice, and for personal support and professional development) and appraisal of their work performance.

Managers ensured that staff had access to regular team meetings.

The percentage of staff that had had an appraisal in the last 12 months was 100%.

The percentage of staff that received regular supervision was 100%.

Managers identified the learning needs of staff and provided them with opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge. They did this through supervision and appraisals.

Managers ensured that staff received the necessary specialist training for their roles.

Managers dealt with poor staff performance promptly and effectively.

Staff held regular multidisciplinary meetings.

Staff shared information about clients at handover meetings within the team (for example, shift to shift).

The teams had effective working relationships with teams outside the organisation for example, case managers.

Service activities helped promote a healthy lifestyle for clients – for example walking groups, sports activities and cooking healthy meals.

Staff used technology to support clients effectively for example, the service was hoping to trial fingerprint drug and alcohol testing.

Staff took all practical steps to enable clients to make their own decisions.

When clients lacked capacity, staff made decisions in their best interests, recognising the importance of the person’s wishes, feelings, culture and history.