Avon House Rest Home - Balcombe

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 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 made sure people`s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, well-being and communication needs. People's needs were assessed before they moved into the service and continued to be reviewed regularly, with involvement from relatives, advocates and healthcare professionals, where appropriate, to ensure care reflected their changing needs.

For example, staff recognised a person was presenting with a persistent cough during mealtimes and referred them to the Speech and Language Therapy (SALT)team. Following assessment, the person's diet was modified to reduce the risk of choking and aspiration. Following this change, staff reported that the person's coughing reduced and they were able to eat more comfortably. This ongoing approach to assessment helped ensure changes in people's needs were identified promptly and care was reviewed and adapted resulting in positive outcomes.

The provider used recognised evidence-based guidance and assessment tools to support the delivery of effective care and treatment. This included the Stop and Watch tool, a decision tool used to identify early signs of physical or cognitive deterioration. However, during the assessment we found this guidance had not been fully embedded into practice or shared consistently with all staff. This meant some staff did not have access to the same guidance to support decision making, creating a potential risk of inconsistent responses to changes in people's health. The provider responded promptly by making the guidance available to all staff ensuring it formed part of everyday practice.

Despite this, staff demonstrated a good understanding of the people they supported and were able to recognise changes in people's needs through their day-to-day observations. We saw recognised assessment tools being used effectively, including the malnutrition universal screening tool(MUST) to monitor risks associated with weight loss, and the Waterlow score tool to identify people at risk of developing pressure damage. From these assessments, appropriate referrals were made to healthcare professionals when risks were identified, ensuring people received specialist advice and treatment when required.

The provider worked effectively with other teams and services to promote continuity of care and ensure important information was shared when people moved between services.

For example, each person had a personalised hospital passport titled, “This is Me,” which contained key information to support safe and consistent care. This included key information about the person`s health, care needs, preferences, routines and support network. The passports also described what mattered most to people, helping healthcare professionals understand how best to support them.

This meant people did not have to repeatedly explain their needs when accessing other services, such as during hospital admissions. The approach promoted continuity of care, reduced unnecessary anxieties associated with moving between services, and helped healthcare professionals provide personalised, consistent care from the outset.

The provider supported people to maintain their health, well-being and independence, enabling them to remain as active and self-sufficient as possible despite the impact of frailty or underlying health concerns. Staff encouraged people to do as much as they could for themselves, providing support only where it was needed to promote independence, and quality of life.

People described how support was tailored to maximise their independence. A person told us, "I've got a commode, they come round early evening and set it all up for me. It's all ready for me to use at night.” This enabled the person to continue managing this aspect of their care independently while maintaining their privacy.

This approach supported people to retain their independence, confidence and control over their daily lives.

The provider routinely monitored people's care and support to help achieve positive outcomes and ensure care remained effective as people's needs changed. Care records demonstrated that people's health and well-being were regularly reviewed, with care plans updated, where required, to reflect changing needs.

For example, where a person was identified as being at risk of developing diabetes, staff monitored their health, supported them to follow dietary recommendations, and worked alongside healthcare professionals to promote healthcare outcomes and reduce the risk of further deterioration.

A relative also described the positive impact the service had on their family member`s well-being. They told us, “Where she was before, she didn't want anyone touching her, she didn't have a proper bath or shower or anything. However, since moving here, she's quite happy. She has a bath or shower whatever she likes.”

This approach helped people achieve and maintain positive health and well-being outcomes through regular monitoring, responsive care, and partnership working with healthcare professionals.

The provider respected people's rights to make decisions about their care and treatment by routinely seeking consent and supporting people to make informed choices. Consent was considered on admission and reflected within care planning, alongside assessments of mental capacity where appropriate. Relatives were involved in decision making where this reflected people's wishes or legal arrangements.

We observed staff consistently seeking people's consent before providing support or carrying out care. Staff took time to explain what they were doing, waited for people to respond and respected their choices before proceeding with care or support.

This approach promoted people's autonomy, dignity and control, helping ensure care was delivered in line with their wishes and preferences.