Lifeways Community Care (Poole)

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 inspection we rated this key question good. At this inspection 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 service made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

People’s care plans included their health, wellbeing and communication needs. They provided guidance to staff on how to support people in achieving their goals. Care plans were reviewed regularly with relatives to ensure care was personalised, and in line with people’s wishes and preferences.

The service 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 care plans contained information about their nutrition and long-term health needs. Staff worked with healthcare professionals to ensure care provided was consistent and in line with best practice. Relatives told us people were supported appropriately with their nutritional needs and encouraged to make choices.

The service 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.

Staff told us there was good continuity of care and they worked together as a team and in partnership with professionals. One staff member said, “We liaise with healthcare professionals such as GPs, nurses, dietitians, speech and language therapists, and mental health teams.” Feedback from professionals we spoke with included: “Staff are mostly working collaboratively and are more responsive to guidance, which is contributing to improved outcomes for the individuals we support.”

The service supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

People were supported to attend healthcare appointments, including annual health reviews. They were also supported to take part in activities they enjoyed and to go on holiday. Care plans detailed how to support people in maintaining relationships, and relatives were invited to events such as afternoon tea.

The service 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.

People were observed to make positive improvements and achieve goals; for example hospital admissions were reduced. Clear, person centred care plans and protocols in place enabled this. Care plans were audited regularly by management to ensure care remained effective.

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

Relatives told us people were supported to make choices. Staff said they encouraged people to make choices in their daily lives. A clear process was in place to carry out mental capacity assessments when required, and assessments had been completed for individual decisions. Care was planned in the person’s best interests, in the least restrictive way and in consultation with those important to them.