Affinity Trust Specialist Division South

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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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.

The registered manager told us people’s needs were assessed when they started to use the service, and these were used to inform care plans and risk assessments. The assessments were undertaken with input from the person and their representatives, where appropriate. Where people were unable to contribute to detailed planning, relatives confirmed they had been involved and consulted alongside health and social care professionals involved in the person’s care. People’s care plans included assessments of their needs, wishes and aspirations to ensure the service was able to meet these. Staff developed support plans with people which focused on what was important to them and goals they wanted to achieve. They supported people to assess they were happy with their tenancies and understood their rights and responsibilities.

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.

People’s support requirements, and wishes had been recorded to guide and direct staff in how people liked to be supported. This helped to ensure care delivery was consistently person‑centred and in line with people’s preferences. People and their relatives told us staff worked in line with people’s planned care and respected their wishes and choices. A relative explained how staff had used more personalised approaches with their family member than previous placements. They told us, “Staff know that they have to keep [Name] occupied or they become [distressed]. They go out with staff and do things which helps them [to regulate their moods and emotions].” Since our last assessment, the provider had evaluated their practices and implemented improvements in providing staff with evidence-based guidance, for example more robust positive behaviour support strategies, to ensure people were supported effectively to remain living in their own home.

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.

People’s care plans included their life history and experiences, what and who was important to them and their ambitions and goals. This helped people to tell their story and have their needs met consistently and safely. Staff shared relevant information and worked with external health and social care professionals to ensure people’s needs were understood and their wishes heard. For example, where people wanted to live and how they wanted to spend their time. This helped to ensure people had the right support in a timely way.

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.

People told us if they needed support to access health care support this would be provided. People and relatives told us staff supported them to access external healthcare services, including routine healthcare and specialist services. A relative told us, “[Name] is healthy, staff sort out appointments and liaise with the GP. They keep me up to date and tell me everything. They also handle emergencies and hospital admissions when this is needed.” Staff had recorded information about people’s healthcare needs in assessments and care plans. They shared guidance and information with staff about how these needs should be monitored and met. People confirmed they were supported to prepare or cook their meals where they were able, or meals were provided for them. Staff encouraged people to follow a balanced, healthy diet and to stay hydrated. People were supported to maintain relationships with family members and friends who were important to them.

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.

People’s support requirements and the delivery of care was consistently monitored. Managers regularly audited staff’s daily records of the care they had provided to people. This helped the managers ensure people’s care plans were followed by staff and care was monitored and escalated if any concerns were identified.

People were able to describe positive outcomes from their care. A person described how staff had supported them to access specialist advice and support to enable them to maintain and develop relationships. They told us this support helped them understand boundaries and choices and made them feel more in control and less vulnerable than previously. A staff member described how they had supported a person to identify goals and achieve positive outcomes. They told us, “At the start [Name] wasn't doing a lot. Now they go swimming, which is quite a big thing, we didn’t think we'd manage it, but it is something we both enjoy together. They have been having trips to the beach and seaside. They have a sensory room at home which is really good but also goes out to a sensory room in local community too which they enjoy." The staff member described how monitoring and responding to the person’s needs enabled them to identify music was very important to helping them regulate their moods and the introduction of a portable music player has meant they can carry this around with them when they need it. This had led to a reduction in distress for the person.

The provider had made improvements to mental capacity assessments and ensuring staff understood people’s rights around consent, and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

People reported staff consistently asked them for consent before providing care and support. A person told us, “Staff respect this is my home and listen to my choices and decisions. They are here all the time, and I am okay with that.” We observed staff offer people choices and respected their decisions.For example, when people wanted time to be alone staff respected this and withdrew to give people the time and space they needed. A staff member told us, “[Name] has pretty solid routines, for example personal care before breakfast. However, there are days where they might wake up hungry; they tell staff by pointing to the kitchen. We then support them to have breakfast first instead. It breaks [Name’s] usual routine, but it's their choice. They are good at showing us what they want.” Mental capacity assessments had been completed to assess if people had the mental capacity to make specific decisions relating to their care. Staff understood how to support people who lacked mental capacity in ways that prioritised their best interests. Staff and managers had received Mental Capacity Act (MCA) training appropriate to their role and complied with any legally authorised restrictions for people.