Dearne Valley Care Centre

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 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 before they moved into the home. The support they needed from staff was clearly recorded in their care plans. Care plans reflected any diverse needs, including their religion, ethnicity, disabilities and important relationships. This helped staff to recognise and understand aspects of people's life which were important to them. People's care plans recorded their preferences, likes and dislikes. This supported staff to provide person-centred care.

People and relatives told us they were actively involved in the care assessment process. One relative said, “We felt reassured when [person] first went there as they asked such a lot of questions about them and their background. It felt like they were really interested in them as a person.”

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.

People's needs were assessed, and care was delivered in line with standards and best practice guidance. Care plans included assessments which identified potential risks and how these should be managed. These covered a range of areas, including medicines management, nutrition, moving and handling and skin integrity.

People received support to maintain a balanced diet. We observed lunch being served and found this was a pleasant experience. People were offered choices and staff checked people were enjoying their meals. Staff were supportive throughout the meal and recognised when people required assistance. People consistently said the food was good quality freshly cooked food. One person said they were a fussy eater, but the cook had been brilliant with them. Another said, “The meals are freshly prepared, no packet stuff.”

Relatives provided positive feedback about how staff adapted care in response peoples changing needs. One relative told us, “[Person] loves the food there and staff noticed they were using their hands more, so they provided more finger‑type foods.” This showed staff actively monitored people’s abilities, reflected on the impact of those changes, and adjusted support to enable the person to continue eating independently and safely.

The home had policies and procedures in place which covered all aspects of the service. The policies seen had been reviewed and were up to date.

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 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 shared information about people’s needs effectively during handovers. This information was clear and enabled external professionals to have an accurate understanding.

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 had access to external health and social care professionals when needed. Records showed staff worked closely with local community health services and sought advice and guidance when required. Staff recognised changes in people’s presentation, emotional state or distress that indicated a deterioration in their health or wellbeing, and they escalated concerns to the relevant professionals. The team supported referrals and, while waiting for them to be completed, worked with people to ensure their needs continued to be met. One person said, “They know what they are doing here. I was poorly a few weeks back and they asked me what I wanted to do go to hospital or stay here.”

Staff helped people access health screening and healthcare services when required. They made referrals to other organisations and requested urgent support when people experienced health-related issues.

People chose what they wanted to eat each day and were always offered alternatives if the options provided were not suitable.

The provider routinely 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.

The management team routinely monitored the quality of care through care records and feedback from people. They ensured guidance from healthcare professionals was followed and reviewed the impact of any changes to make sure people received the care they needed.

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

The registered manager and staff team were knowledgeable about MCA and DoLS and worked within the principles of the MCA. Were people lacked capacity to make decisions, appropriate people were involved in making decisions in people's best interests.

Throughout the inspection we observed staff interacting with people in a caring and considerate way. We saw staff gaining people's consent prior to carrying out care tasks.