Outright Care

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 and met. A relative told us, “They [agency] contact me and we discussed [name] care plan.” Care plans were detailed, showing the support each person required, and were regularly reviewed and updated to ensure care remained effective and tailored to individual needs.

People and their relatives were involved in planning care and making decisions. Staff worked with healthcare professionals and other relevant agencies when needed and held regular team meetings to review care and respond to any changes.

The provider maintained communication and involvement with relatives, ensuring care plans reflected people’s preferences. This ensured people received safe, personalised, and effective care.

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment in partnership 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 undertook a range of training to help them perform their role effectively. Staff told us training was helpful, and they felt appropriately skilled and well informed. A member of staff said, “I have done mandatory training as I sometimes assist in signing off staff competencies. I have also done the Part 1 of Oliver McGowan learning disabilities online training just to broaden my knowledge.” We asked relatives about the standard of training of staff. A relative said, “Oh yes staff are well trained and skilled.”

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.

Staff had access to people’s care and support plans to understand people’s needs and deliver their care. People were supported to live a healthy life; senior staff understood the importance of sharing information in a timely manner. Staff told us communication within the service was effective and various systems were in place for the staff team to share information appropriately. A member of staff said, “Communication is very good, they communicate with me through emails, Newsletters, calls, text messages and meetings. Important messages are shared with me in person and through encrypted emails.”

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.

A system was in place to help monitor people’s health and well-being. Staff recorded their visits and the support they provided. Management used these notes to help monitor people’s progress.

Staff were knowledgeable about people’s health and care needs. Where people required assistance with food and drink, guidance was in place. A relative said, “They [staff] do all that they need to do during mealtimes. No problem at all.”

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 plans included information about how people wanted to be supported to achieve their outcomes. Daily notes enabled staff to monitor people and help staff respond to people’s changing needs promptly to help promote positive outcomes.

Management checked records and liaised with staff to help ensure appropriate action was taken when monitoring and responding to people’s needs.

The provider undertook quality assurance through telephone monitoring, home visits and surveys. This helped to manage risks and reduce the risk of poor outcomes to people.

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

People were supported to consent to their care as much as possible. They were involved in developing their own care plans, so these reflected the support they wanted.

Staff understood the importance of seeking people’s consent before each care task and were clear about the steps to take if a person lacked capacity to make specific decisions. A member of staff told us, “The Mental Capacity Act means not assuming someone lacks capacity until this has been assessed. In my role, I must presume the service user has capacity unless proven otherwise. This means they make the final decision about their care and must give consent to any support provided.” Relatives raised no concerns regarding how staff sought consent.