Aranlaw House Care Home

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 inspection 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 service made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

Relatives told us they had opportunities to visit the care home and discuss their loved one’s care needs with the registered manager prior to their them moving in. A health and social care professional told us, “The management team prioritise the health of people and this is demonstrated by their consistent engagement with health care professionals. They are always willing to engage with us and facilitate as best they can any ideas to enhance people’s care and health.”

Staff told us people were offered choice and spoke of the importance of communicating relatives and friends, who knew the person well. A staff member said, “It’s those little things when supporting someone one on one that make’s a person's day special.”

Evidence-based care was within the service’s policies and procedures. The registered manager was in the process of updating people’s care plans. We saw evidence any changes to people’s health was communicated to staff through handovers, team meetings and the providers electronic system.
 

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 told us their care needs were assessed, reviewed, and updated as required, relatives were involved where appropriate. Relatives felt confident any referrals for treatment or for specialist input were made in a timely manner. One relative said, “Regular updates on my loved one’s conditions are welcomed, I'm kept in the loop with how they are, and of any medical visits and if there are any concerns with their health and wellbeing - I hear from the management team immediately.”

Staff were proactive in their delivery of care to ensure people remained well and had their needs met. For example, they had supported people to increase their fluid intake during hot weather. This had reduced the likelihood of a deterioration in health, such as infections.

Handover records and meeting minutes accurately reflected the care people received. For example, we saw protocols in place ensuring staff knew if a person had fallen and so required more frequent checks, or if they were receiving any planned treatment from health and social care professionals.

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 shared their experiences about the importance of working as a team at Aranlaw House Care Home. Comments included, “What stands out most for me is the team environment and the way both the registered manager and the head office team work together to ensure that no one feels left behind” and, “Not every day is a sunshine day, we have residents who have a difficult time, but the information and support is there and I'm exceptionally happy working as part of the team who are absolutely like family.”

The registered manager and management team had oversight of records and told us they could access details of care as required to share them with external professionals. These actions had supported continuity of care and helped ensure people were kept safe from avoidable harm. A health and social care professional said, “Communication is excellent and this encourages safe practice.” This meant people consistently had experienced a seamless transition to the service.

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 live a healthy lifestyle, and information was accessible to the kitchen staff. Where people were supported with food and drink there were instructions in place, this included where a person may have difficulty swallowing or needed a special diet. Food choices were varied and people had access to food and drink when they wanted. A relative told us, “Even the chef knows if it's for my loved one we get a bigger portion size, I come to make sure I support them to finish it and I can go home knowing they’ve had a good meal.”

We observed staff encouraging people to drink fluids and people freely accessing food from snacking stations.
 

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.

Where necessary, referrals to health services had been made to ensure people maintained a healthy lifestyle, identified goals and had positive outcomes.The service had worked with people to achieve and improve their outcomes, for example, reductions and changes in medicines.

The registered manager told us work was underway to ensure all care plans were reviewed as planned and up to date.

The registered manager spoke about the importance of including the views of relatives and advocates who knew people well when creating care plans. The management team had ensured they included information about the activities or hobbies which mattered most to people during their time at Aranlaw House Care Home. A relative reiterated this, “My loved one took pride in their appearance and were always dolled up, the care home staff make sure they are still able to go shopping and that means so much to us.”

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

People told us they were in control of their care and chose how they wished to be supported. One person informed us, “If I needed help and I asked, I know the staff would help me, I see them help the others here.”

Staff had received training and told us the importance of asking for consent and offering choice before providing care to people.

One health and social care professionals told us, “Aranlaw House Care Home, supports people with complex mental health needs and dementia well. Staff support people to go on outings and this has made a huge difference to some people and helped them settle in well, requiring less interventions.”

Records showed consent had been sought from people and where necessary assessments had been completed in accordance with the MCA 2005. The process had involved those important to the person and those legally authorised to support their care decisions.