Trewithen

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.
This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated good.
This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

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 were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

People’s care plans were accurate, informative and up to date. They provided staff with sufficient guidance and background information to enable them to understand and meet each person’s individual care needs. Staff understood how to use the provider’s digital care planning systems and told us it worked well in most areas of the service. Staff comments included, “The support plans are usually quite up to date”, “Everything you need is [in the care plan]” and “[The manager] highlights it when they have been changed”.

Staff completed accurate records of the support each person received with details of the person’s mood and how they had spent their time.

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.

The service worked with partners to ensure people’s needs were fully understood and met. Staff supported people to attend any appointments and were able to provide support if a hospital admission became necessary. Hospital passports were available for each person including details of their communication skills and support needs.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

Staff knew people well and communicated effectively with them using aids and tools to support people’s understanding. Information was available in accessible formats and staff used social stories and other tools to help people understand and process complex information.

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.

Staff kept people’s relatives updated on what had been happening in their lives and relatives told us they valued this information. Their comments included, “Communication is good the staff call me quite frequently and let me know how [My relative] is doing” and “[The manager] encourages staff to send photographs to us”.

Feedback was regularly gathered from people’s relatives and any concerns or complaints reported were fully investigated. The provider encouraged and valued feedback from people living at Trewithen and had developed supportive systems to enable people to share their experiences.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

People were supported to access health care services whenever necessary and relatives’ comments included, “They are very careful about their health and appointments” and “They took [my relative] to the opticians as they were aware of how their sight was changing”. Professionals confirmed the service sought support appropriately and told us, “They communicate well regarding the needs of their clients and are thoughtful in considering what individuals may like or enjoy.”
Staffing levels and the availability of drivers were sufficient to enable people to access the community. During assessment visits people went out when they wished and records showed people normally went out every day. Staff said, “They all have cars and do go out”, “People go out when they want to. It is all good” and “People go out most days, sometimes multiple times a day. They do get out a lot”.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

People were supported to live varied and interesting lives and staff worked with relatives, involved professionals, and commissioners to ensure people had access to sufficient resources to enable them to take part in activities they enjoyed. Staff told us, “[Name] goes boating a couple of times a month. They all have things they like to do”, “[Name] likes going out for lunch and dinner, they like people watching, going for a drive and a walk” and “Today [Name] was out with staff for lunch and a walk, then we went for a long drive and then, later, for a short drive just for 10 to 15 minutes”. Staff recognised some aspects of routines were particularly important to people, they took account of these needs while planning or proposing activities.

People were given exceptional support to plan for important life changes, so they could make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

The service was able to meet people’s needs at the end of their lives. In the months before the assessment the manager and staff team had worked flexibly and collaboratively with health services to enable a person to spend their last days living at Trewithen in line with their wishes. Staff had accessed additional training, and additional equipment had been arranged to enable the person to stay at home. They told us, “I feel good and positive that we could give [Name] the care they needed”.
A lounge had been converted into a bedroom for the person, and their relatives had been given use of their original bedroom room. This had enabled relatives to stay close and offer reassurance and company to the person whenever needed. Staff were proud they had been able to support the person to have a dignified and comfortable experience at the end of their life.
Relatives confirmed the end of life care had been arranged respectfully and in a way that met the needs of the person and themselves. Comments included, “I cannot emphasise enough how good they have been for both [my relative] and us. We stayed there the last 2 weeks. The care was second to none, they are absolutely fantastic. They cared so lovingly for [My relative]” and “They said they were going to look after [My relative] and they did. We could not have got better care in hospital or anywhere”.
Health partners constantly praised and complimented the service for the quality of care they had provided. Professionals’ comments included, “They recognised when additional expertise was required and sought advice and support from external professionals and services to ensure the resident's needs were met safely and effectively” and “I raised a plaudit for the care team to the Council's quality assurance department stating, ‘The Trewithen team led by [manager and regional manager], have gone above and beyond to meet the client's needs…… The team deserves credit for their efforts’”.