United Response - 2a St Alban's Close

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

People had person centred care plans. Leaders worked hard to make sure people’s needs, routines and preferences were reflected in documentation so staff were guided on how to provide support. Professionals were involved in the creation of care plans to ensure specialist instructions were included. Relatives and advocates were involved and consulted to support the person. The registered manager told us, “We always invite family to any reviews and make sure relatives are involved.”

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.

Staff used nationally recognised assessment tools to ensure people received the support they needed. Support was provided in line with right support, right care, right culture. One visiting professional told us, “I have worked with St Alban's and its staff for a number of years, I have always found them to be caring, understanding and professional. I have no concerns about the level of care they provide.”

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 had a close working relationship to make sure people were at the centre of their care. Staff worked in close collaboration with visiting healthcare professionals such as dieticians, learning disability nurses and GPs. One visiting professional told us, “The team have a long standing positive working relationship with [visiting professionals] which has proven to be a huge strength for people and the quality of planning.”

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 used people’s preferred communication style to ensure people had choice and control over meal and drink choices. People were supported to be active members of their community and regularly accessed the community.

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured outcomes were positive and consistent, and they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

Staff and leaders monitored people’s goals and wellbeing. There was a strong culture at the service of making the service feel homely and people to live high quality fulfilling lives. Care plans were regularly updates to make sure people’s wishes and preferences were up to date and were at the forefront of staff’s approach. One member of staff told us, “The care plans are excellent. They tell me what I need to know to make sure people get the right support.”

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

Decisions were made in line with the Mental Capacity Act. Where someone was unable to make their own decision, leaders ensured there was an assessment and best interest decision in place for each aspect of care the person needed support with. There was a culture to ensure staff followed the person’s wishes and routines. Staff understood the importance of consent, especially for those who were non-verbal. Staff knew the non-verbal cues and gestures people would make to give consent to a particular action.