Benkhill Lodge

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,treatmentand support achieved good outcomes and promoteda good qualityof life, based on best available evidence.

At our last assessment we rated this key questiongood. At thisassessmentthe rating hasremainedgood.

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 did not always make sure people’s care and treatment was effective by reviewing their health, care,wellbeing and communication needs with them.Staff told us how it was important for them to spend time getting to know individual people when they first arrived to build a rapport and understand their needs, wishes and goals. We saw that assessments were carried out to understand people’s needs and risk;however,these were not always regularly reviewed and updated as required. We also found care plans for people who were admitted to the service on a short-term placement lacked sufficient detail and guidance for staff; despite the placement in some cases exceeding a year.

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 worked closely with external professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapist to ensure people were supported as per professionals’ guidance, to meet their goals. Staff told us how they actively encouraged a reluctant person to engage in physiotherapy exercises with them, using their goals of returning home as motivation.

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 handed over information effectively between shifts and had daily safety huddles to share and action any concerns they had.

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 access healthcare professionals for regular check ups and when they had identified health issues.Meals provided were healthy,nutritious and varied.

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.We saw how peoples weight, and skin integrity was regularly monitored with referrals were made when needed. The manager regularly reviewed people’s clinical outcomes and where there were concerns, a stop and watch early warning tool was used. This helped staff spot subtle signs of deterioration and take early action.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.People’s right to make their own decisions was respected and staff sought consent before supporting people.One person told us how staff,“always ask permission before they help me”.

People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes this can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. People had a DoLS authorisation in place where this was needed,and guidance was available for staff to explain what this meant for that person.