Westgarth

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. This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated 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 prior to admission and relatives told us they were involved in reviews.A recently completed pre-admission assessment included detailed information about medical and care needs, and personal history.

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 completed Oliver McGowan training, which is the government’s preferred and recommended training for learning disability and autism. Positive behaviour support training ensured staff provided proactive support and least restrictive strategies, tailored to meet people’s individual requirements.

Staff supported people with their nutrition and hydration needs. People were offered a choice of food and drinks, including snacks throughout the day. The manager had recently implemented a 4 week menu pilot to introduce more choice and variety and reflect people's preferences.

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people.

Staff made referrals to health professionals when needed and worked collaboratively with other professionals to ensure people’s needs were met during their stay at the service. People admitted for respite care remained under their own GP practice, whom staff liaised with if medication or advice was needed during the person’s stay. People admitted for short stays were registered temporarily with a local GP surgery. Records showed input from other professionals including district nurses, learning disability nurses, dietician and social workers.

Communication systems ensured staff were informed of any changes in people’s care and support. Staff spoke positively about teamwork and said staff supported one another to ensure people received the care and support they needed. This was evidenced in our observations.

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 supported people to be as involved as possible in managing their health and wellbeing needs during their stay at the service. This included accessing health and social care support from professionals and taking part in reviews.

People were encouraged and supported to make healthier choices. For example, a personal goal for 1 person was to lose weight and improve their health. The person spoke positively about how staff encouraged them to make healthier choices around food and supported them in monitoring their weight. Records evidenced a proactive approach to monitoring people's health and wellbeing and supporting positive outcomes.

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.

Care records showed people's care and treatment was monitored during their stay and appropriate action was taken when concerns were identified.

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

Staff offered choices and sought people’s consent before providing care and support. Care plans provided information about capacity and consent.

Where there was reason to doubt a person had capacity to give consent, mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions were in place.