Avenues South East - 87 Westbrook Avenue

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 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 was planned in partnership with them, with clear plans setting out how their individual physical, emotional and social needs could be met. These were regularly reviewed alongside them to ensure they remained up to date, and reflected each person’s diverse needs. For one person we observed they had sensory lights and aides in place to provide them with opportunities for engagement and emotional regulation. We saw these were regularly used with this person and there was a plan in place around how these were to be used. This included regular hand and foot massages, and music therapy.

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.

There was a consistent staff team who knew the needs of people exceptionally well. The majority of staff had worked at the service a long period of team, and people and their families had formed positive and trusted relationships with them. One relative told us “Staff have been there for a number of years and know (person) really well. They are happy with them”.

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

There was clear individualised guidance in place for how to communicate with people in a way that was accessible to people, and allowed them opportunity to be involved and in control of their own care. One person had an easy read version of their care plan which they reviewed with their key worker each month. During our visit this person showed us their care plan folder and flicked through it with their staff team. They felt comfortable talking to staff about details that they would like updating. They told us “Yes I created this with staff. It needs updating as I bought new plates yesterday”. Another person was able to communicate through Makaton and staff had recently received training for the Speech and Language Team (SaLT). Staff could describe to us signs they would use, as well as how they would use simplified sentences and observe this person’s body language to help them communicate and given this person a voice. A relative told us “I think my relative likes their staff team, and staff know how to communicate with them”

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.

There were regular opportunities for people and their families to be involved to review their care, to ensure it continued to meet their expectations. This included monthly meetings between people and their key workers to discuss their care, and any important events during the coming month such as appointments or activities they would like to take part in. All care plans were designed alongside people and regularly reviewed to ensure they remained up to date and reflect people’s current needs. One relative explained “Yes they involve me with anything such as reviews or if (person name) has appointments”

There were surveys for people, families and staff to understand their experience of care at Westbrook Avenue, although due to the size of the service the volume of responses was small.

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

Staff worked collaboratively to ensure people received the support they needed to manage their health and care needs proactively, to promote their own health and wellbeing. For example, we saw one person had been referred to specialist nursing teams if their skin integrity deteriorated. However, we saw they had also engaged with relevant teams to support this person in accessing an adapted chair and pressure relieving mattress, which allowed staff to safely manage their skin health and reduce the risk of deterioration. We saw similar examples of proactive working around people’s communication, emotional support, oral health and foot health to support people in getting the regular and personalised support they needed.

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 service worked in creative ways to empower people to take part in society as equals, and build meaningful social connections with their peers. Recently staff had organised a disco at the service as the people they support found enjoyment in music. This was attended by other people from local services operated by the provider. Staff had identified a gap locally for such an activity and were now planning further events following positive feedback. This approach had allowed people the opportunity to take part in new activities, and build greater confidence in building new relationships in an accessible way. One person we spoke with told us enthusiastically how much they had enjoyed the disco, and that staff supported them to regularly access the local community. They told us “I do go out with staff into Margate. I went out yesterday to a disco”

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.

Staff worked sensitively with people and families to help them proactively plan for important life events, and that their wishes for the future were understood and used to underpin the care they received. This included recording people’s wishes around end of life care to ensure this would be handled with dignity and respect.