Sackville Gardens

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 outstanding. At this assessment the rating has remained outstanding. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently better than expected compared to similar services. People’s feedback described it as exceptional and distinctive.

This service scored 88 (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 demonstrated a comprehensive and person-centred approach to assessing people’s health, care, wellbeing, and communication needs. Before a person moved into the home, robust assessments were carried out in collaboration with the person, and where appropriate, their families or representatives, ensuring care planning reflected individual preferences, strengths, and goals.

A range of assessment tools were used to identify a wide range of needs, including physical health, emotional wellbeing, social support, and communication requirements. These were also used in the continued monitoring of people’s needs and wishes. Cultural, religious, and equality-related factors were also factored into assessments to ensure care provision was inclusive.Care plans and risk assessments were regularly reviewed between the person and their keyworker to ensure any changes or updates were reflected. This enabled effective care to be consistently provided. People were supported to live independently with care which aligned with their personal goals.

The provider always 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. They worked to develop evidence-based good practice and standards.

Staff had an exceptional knowledge on how to utilise evidence-based care to support and exceed people’s needs. The provider used numerous different tools, however there was a focus on trauma informed person-centred care, which empowered people to set and achieve realistic goals which were personal to them. This recovery focused approach supported people to look at their lives holistically and ensured they developed skills which could enable them to move on. The ’outcome star’ was utilised to support people to shape care and treatment which was important to them.The service took on Occupational Therapy (OT) students each year. Staff and the management team were exceedingly receptive to the knowledge that these professionals brought and utilised the models and tools gained from OT to further support people.

The management team were proactive in ensuring staff training remained in line with legislation. They regularly attended additional webinars and training sessions to further develop knowledge within the service. There was a strong ethos of learning and using external training providers to keep ahead with forward thinking care. People using the service also benefitted from the proactive approach of the provider and managers. Training which was delivered to staff was reshaped and developed to support people using the service. For example, staff had attended ‘Hearing Voices’ training. They used this learning to establish a course which was suitable for people who used the service and worked through the training together. This had a significantly positive impact on reducing the distress people experienced from hearing voices.

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 knew people well and clearly communicated any changes in a person’s needs through regular and thorough handover meetings. This included when there was a need to contact external agencies. Staff worked well with other professionals such as GP’s and mental health teams, following their advice when needed to best support people. Prompt referrals had been made where needed and staff told us they had extremely good relationships with the external professionals they worked alongside.

Feedback from professionals was, without exception, positive. They praised staff at Sackville Gardens for their timely and clear communication and spoke of confidence in guidance being suitably implemented. Comments included, ‘Staff are kind, responsive and successful in delivering a high standard of care’; ‘Staff keep us closely informed on the progress people are making’; and ‘Staff work very closely with me and [persons] to meet their needs and keep people safe. In both cases it has been with people who have complex mental health needs, and outcomes have been positive.’

The provider always supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to fully 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 were supported exceptionally well to live healthier lives, access healthcare services and support. Staff were diligent advocates for those they supported, alongside forming strong relationships with external professionals to ensure effective partnership working and achieve access to optimal healthcare for people. A robustly person-centred approach ensured people had access to appropriate treatments and prevented readmission or admission to hospital.

For example, staff worked closely with nurses from the local diabetes clinic under an initiative which offered a tailored care plan to prioritise safety and wellbeing for people living with diabetes. This involved working collaboratively with the person to ensure consistent engagement with their healthcare treatment and ensuring any barriers to them doing this were heard. One person had a expressed a dislike of a certain insulin administration method. Previously, this had been seen as a way to not comply with treatment. However, by staff responding in a person-centred way and respectfully advocating for this person, they were able to adapt the treatment plan. This significantly increased the person’s compliance with their treatment and in turn promoted a healthier lifestyle. Professionals spoke positively, without exception, about the support provided at Sackville Gardens. One told us, “I think that the staff listen to [Person] they are accommodating and extremely are vigilant to monitoring health needs, including medication and their wellbeing, they are quick to let me know of changes that occur within [Person’s] behaviours that may cause concern.” Another professional added, “Communication is always excellent, and any issues are raised and resolved very quickly. Whenever I have concerns about [persons] staying there, staff are always quick to respond and it is clear that they put a lot of effort into building up good working relationships with people alongside meeting all of their practical needs and managing risk.”

Staff worked collaboratively with people to creatively support them to live healthier lifestyles regarding nutrition. For example, one person really enjoyed cooking and learning new skills around this, however, they found the preparation process of finding recipes and shopping for ingredients very stressful. This was limiting their ability to cook independently and leading them to consume unhealthy foods. Staff offered the person the opportunity to try a recipe box delivery service where the person selected the meal they wanted from an online list, then the ingredients and recipe was delivered for them to cook. This had a significantly positive impact on both the person’s nutritional intake, and in improving their independent cooking skills to minimise risk of malnutrition when they moved on.

The provider monitored all people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they fully met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

Staff and the management team thrived to empower people to set goals and work towards them to enable them to move forward. There was a strong ethos at the service of inspiring people to change and make positive adjustments to achieve more independent living.

Staff had taken great care to ensure people’s voices and choices were heard and to enable people to build and stay in control of their own lives. There was a key working system in place which focused on people’s strengths, using an outcome star method to track goals and achievements. Regular care plan reviews enabled both staff and people to have a complete, holistic oversight of the needs and they worked collaboratively to set realistic targets which were measurable. People were treated as paramount in decision making and staff were passionate about supporting people to meet their own dreams and wishes. For example, one person was supported to attend college even though they had previously experienced barriers due to their disability. This eventually led to them gaining the qualifications they needed to obtain employment in a vocation they had always dreamed of.

The provider organisation offered internship opportunities to people living at the home. This included linking people in with local initiatives such a community food project and work in a local Community Kitchen. This provided people with the relevant experience they needed to seek employment moving forward once they moved away from Sackville Gardens. Staff were exceptional at getting to know people and teasing out their strengths, skills and interests. They would then work creatively to build on these to achieve positive outcomes for people. For example, the provider put on a local art exhibition which was collaboratively curated with people who used the service and enabled some people to display artwork they were proud of. This had a significant impact on people’s confidence in achieving their desired goals and outcomes.

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

Staff demonstrated a strong knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA), including a clear understanding of its principles. There was a robust ethos about supporting people to make their own decisions and honouring these, even if at times they were unwise. Staff worked with people to promote their ability to make their own decisions, for example, some people were more able at certain points in the day, so decision making was tailored around their routines. People’s communication needs were known by staff and documented within their care plans, this included how best to help someone make their own choices around how care was delivered.

Where people lacked capacity to make specific decisions, processes were in place to ensure people were supported in their best interests. Staff and management also involved people’s representatives when necessary and appropriate.The registered manager had a good knowledge of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and processes were in place to make applications appropriately if needed.