Pathway House

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last inspection we rated this key question Good. At this inspection the rating has remained Good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

Staff supported people in line with their likes, dislikes and preferences. People were supported to communicate in ways that made sense to them. People were supported to follow their interests and be an active part of the local community. Care plans were person centred and detailed, giving clear guidance about how best to support people. People were being supported to have positive experiences and outcomes.

This service scored 79 (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 received person-centred care that was in line with their preferences, likes and dislikes. Staff and the management team knew people well and knew how they wanted to be supported. They made changes to people’s support if it became clear people wanted to be supported differently or if they discovered a new like or dislike. People’s care plans were individualised and detailed how people wanted to be supported in line with their individual likes and dislikes. For example, staff supported people to take part in past times they were interested in. One person said, ‘‘I do what I like here.’’ A relative said, ‘‘[Staff] understand all of [family members] needs and genuinely care about them.’’

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity. Staff supported people to get in contact with health professionals if this was necessary. People were actively supported to be a part of their community and to follow their interests outside of the service. People had a consistent staff team who had worked at the service for extended periods of time to help promote continuity of care. A relative told us, ‘‘The staff team used to be up and down but there have been the same staff there for a while now. This has helped them get to know [family member] better.’’

The provider always supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. Staff were exceptionally well trained and knowledgeable about how to support people with different communication need such as using signs or objects to help them communicate.

People using the service had different and very specific communication methods and needed intensive support to help them understand their day to day lives and how they would be spending their time. Some people needed symbols, pictures and photographs to help support them with this. Staff had fully understood and supported this, producing detailed timetables for people using symbols and photographs, often of the person taking part in the activity themselves. This had enabled people to fully understand what was happening throughout the day and feel fully prepared and in control of what was happening next. People showed us their planners and it was clear they were delighted to be using these and that it bought them a lot of comfort.

The management and staff team had fully supported people’s different communication needs. They had developed separate detailed care plans about people’s communication and about how people liked to spend their time. These used pictures to detail how best to support people in these areas. These were of an excellent quality both in relation to how they guided staff to support people and also in how they were used to support discussions and understanding with people about how they were being supported.

Around the service there were numerous easy-read accessible documents and pictures. In the kitchen there were pictures of meals that were easily accessible to people at all times to help them make choices about what to cook and eat. There were also numerous books full of pictures of people being supported with their preferences and past times. Staff used these to engage people in discussion about what they had done and to help find out what people enjoyed.

Relatives told us the management and staff communicated with them regularly. One relative said, ‘‘Communication is excellent and we always get updated, even about the simple things.’’

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result. The management and staff team made sure people, and their relatives were given the opportunity to feed back about their care and support regularly. Staff held individual and group meetings with people to discuss their support and any recent experiences they had which they enjoyed. Staff took time to listen to people as they were being supported throughout the day. This enabled people to feed back about how they were being supported at every opportunity. Relatives also told us they were involved in discussions about their family members care plans and risk assessments. A relative said, ‘‘[Staff] involve me in the care planning and I always feel listened to.’’

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. Staff supported people to contact health professionals such as GP’s or the emergency services if this was necessary. They followed professionals’ advice to help make sure people were supported safely. Staff advocated for people when they went to their appointments. Staff were working with professionals to advocate for one person who needed more support with one of their support needs and this was having a positive impact for the person.

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and they met the expectations of people and their relatives. People had been supported to have good experiences at the service and achieve positive outcomes as outlined in the Effective and Caring sections of this report. As a result of the support they had, people very positive experiences and outcomes at the service. We observed and were provided with multiple pieces of evidence to show the positive impact this had for people. People were very happy and relaxed being supported by the staff team and relatives feed back about the new and different experiences and positive outcomes their loved ones was having was very positive. Staff were dedicated and committed to supporting people to make choices and have the best experiences and outcomes they could have. A relative said, ‘‘[Family member] is getting on really well and it is lovely to see the difference in them now compared to a few years ago.’’

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life. Staff knew who to contact for support if people needed help at the end of their life. One of the key aims of the service was to support people to stay in the service and have it as their ‘home for life.’ The management and staff team were committed to this and had plans to support people and their families to plan for their future at the service. One relative said, ‘‘[Family member] is very settled and describes the service as their home.’’