Springkell House Care Home

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 71 (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’s needs were assessed prior to moving to Springkell House to ensure the service was able to meet them. In addition to gathering information such as people’s mobility, health and risks, the assessment also went through what was important to the person, their family and how they could be supported emotionally. One relative told us, “Me and my sister were involved in the process. [Family member’s] care plan was gone through, and we added wishes and likes and dislikes.” The registered manager told us they felt it was important to know people’s needs, preferences and expectations to support them to settle in quickly.

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.

The registered manager ensured they were up to date with best practice guidance and used a variety of tools to monitor people’s care. These included regularly sharing people’s observations with their GP to enable them to identify when people were becoming unwell in a timelier manner. Systems to monitor people’s skin integrity and risk of malnutrition were also updated regularly to ensure risks were effectively managed. People’s weight was recorded at regular intervals and action taken where it was found people were losing weight. This included offering high calorie drinks, fortifying foods and making referrals to dieticians where required. Where people were at risk of choking, staff were aware of how to prepare their food to the correct consistency in line with internationally recognised guidance.

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.

Good communication systems were in place to ensure that information was shared with people, relatives, staff and external professionals. Professionals told us that although there had been previous concerns regarding referrals for support, the service had learnt from these mistakes. Referrals were now made promptly and any advice given was followed. One professional told us, “We give a plan of care for them to follow. In my experience I cannot think of when our instructions were not followed.”

When changes were made to someone’s care plan this was communicated to staff in a number of ways which helped prevent updates from being missed. The electronic recording system flagged up any amendments made to alert staff. In addition, regular handover meetings were held to share how people were, any concerns to monitor and any changes in their care needs.

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 were supported to live a healthy lifestyle. People told us they enjoyed their food, particularly as it was homemade and fresh. The registered manager and chef had increased the use of fresh ingredients used and had daily deliveries from local suppliers. A ‘food first’ policy was in place to encourage people to enjoy a varied healthy diet rather than adding calories using food supplements.

Regular exercise was built into the activities programme to encourage people’s on-going movement and mobility. We observed an external professional running a gentle seated exercise group which was well attended. In addition, adaptations had been made to the garden and new furniture purchased to encourage people to use the outdoor areas.

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. However, although people’s outcomes were positive and consistent, records did not always link the review of outcomes and care plans. This meant there was a risk that people’s wishes may not be considered when prioritising their needs. The registered manager told us they were in the process of reviewing how care plans were recorded and would ensure this was prioritised as part of the review. Despite these concerns we found that due to staff knowledge of people, their needs and preferences as well as other systems within the home, there was no direct impact on people’s well-being. Staff were aware of what was important to people, areas of concerns and where encouragement was needed. We observed people were supported in a personalised and respectful way.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. Systems were in place to ensure people’s rights were protected and the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) were followed. Decision specific capacity assessments were completed to determine people’s capacity. Where people were found to lack capacity for specific decisions best interest decisions were recorded. These considered any previous wishes of the person and with input from people who knew the person best, health professionals and staff as appropriate.

Staff had received MCA training and were aware of the importance of gaining people’s consent prior to supporting them. One staff member told us, “It is only with people’s permission can we do anything for them. We have to be person centred in our work and make sure it is what the person wants.” We observed staff followed this practice, asking people if they wanted their support and explaining options and choices.