Whitefield House

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 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 had personalised care and support plans which reflected both their physical and mental health needs. Risk management plans were in place to guide staff on the action to take to mitigate the identified risks. Risk assessments in place included bathing, falls, personal care, skin integrity, continence, mobility, moving and handling, nutrition and medicines.

Staff knew about people’s capacity to make decisions through verbal or non-verbal means, and this was documented. People were empowered to make their own decisions about their care and support. A staff member expressed, "With everything we try and make sure someone has a choice. You can even look at someone's body language to see if they might be liking something. We work for the residents, so this is important."

The provider 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.

A person with capacity sometimes opted to eat foods that Speech and Language Therapists (SALT) assessed as an unsafe texture. It was clear from care plans and risk assessments that staff should offer a safe alternative, though ultimately the person’s wishes should be respected, and they insisted on a certain food. However, records did not detail the actions staff should take while unsafe foods were being consumed, for example, monitoring during consumption. The provider has addressed this and offered guidance to their care team.

The provider monitored care provision to ensure people’s needs were being met; this included checking people’s skin integrity, whether they had any infections or experienced any weight loss. Staff used nationally recognised tools appropriately to assess and monitor people’s needs, while senior and management staff completed regular care plan audits.

People’s nutritional and hydration needs were being met, which included people who required a modified diet, such as soft or pureed food and thickened fluids. Records of people’s food and fluid intake were completed.

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.

The provider and leaders promoted a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach when supporting people. This created positive outcomes for people such as improved skin integrity or greater nutritional intake.

All professionals reported a good working relationship with staff at Whitefield House. A visiting member of the GP practice stated, “Through regular communication, reviews and feedback we are able to supportservice development. We are able to comfortably approach care staff if anything is identified for improvement or contribute to changes in careprocesses. We also welcome feedback from care staff, as our main focus is providing high quality care for patients/residents.”

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.

Staff had good knowledge of relevant health care concerns, how to identify them in the people they supported, aided by staff knowing people well. Staff made referrals to external health services such as GP, district nursing, mental health team and dietician. The information provided by these services was then incorporated into people’s care plans.

People had regular meals, snacks and drinks. Various family members complimented the food provided. One relative told us, “The food is very good, nearly all home cooked, I think. She enjoys the food there and there is plenty of it and there are tea trolleys with drinks and biscuits and snacks if they want, very good”.

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.

The provider worked with several different professionals and stakeholders to support outcomes for people. They were supported in a person-centred way, and their care needs were routinely monitored and reviewed. For example, when required people had their food and fluid intake monitored and all were weighed regularly.

The positive impact regular monitoring had was notable in records. For example, where dietary and fluid intake was recorded people’s nutritional intake increased, along with their weight. A family member also reported the successful management of their relative’s health conditions, they stated, “(Relatives) health condition has improved since (they) went there and they have got (them) to eat and take (their) medicines, so now (they) can remember sometimes and join in things, so much happier”.

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

Consent prior to providing care and support was always obtained. People told us that they were able to retire to bed and get up when they chose. They were also supported with a shower or bath when they wished or felt this was required. People were informed of activities taking place in the home that day, giving people choice and control over how they wished to spend their time. Staff understood the importance of obtaining consent and promoting autonomy. At meals times we observed staff asking people if they would like to leave the table and return to the lounge or their rooms. No action took place without consent or discussion prior.