Affinity Supporting People (North Lancashire and Burnley)

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 rating for this service which registered in November 2022. 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 provider always made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by thoroughly assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

People received optimum support and care because the provider’s assessment procedures were thorough and people's needs were kept under regular review which helped ensure support was effective.

Staff were knowledgeable about people’s needs and supported people in line with their support plans. Staff understood how to communicate with people and kept effective daily records which supported regular reviews and updating of assessments. Staff spoke about the changes they had identified for people over time and described how these changes had been responded to.

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 and their relatives had been involved in identifying their needs and planning their care and support with input from health professionals and staff.

Clinical tools were used to monitor people’s needs in relation to skin integrity and nutrition and hydration.

The Monitoring and recording of epileptic seizures were detailed and followed current best practice guidance.

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 had embedded effective processes to ensure information about people’s care was up to date. Care records were thorough and included; review notes and notes from meetings with other health and social care professionals. Staff team meeting records included important updates. Regular handovers between and staff and regular team meetings ensured staff knowledge was up to date.

All the staff we spoke with praised the effectiveness of team-working in the service. One staff member said, “I like the team work here, I am happy with the way staff help each other. I can speak to the manager at any time.”

Feedback from other professionals was positive about how the service worked effectively in partnership with them.

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 were supported to live healthier lives because the registered manager and staff had effective oversight of people’s health conditions, medical needs and appointments.

People had health action plans and were supported to understand procedures and attend routine health screening. Staff had received training related to people’s health needs and felt confident they were able to support them effectively.

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 were supported to have improved health outcomes because the provider had systems in place to monitor people’s health and wellbeing. Staff were skilled at monitoring and responding to people’s health needs. Accurate record keeping and regular reviews contributed to the effective oversight of people’s health and treatment needs. Relatives we spoke with praised staffs’ knowledge and skills with particular emphasis on how prepared staff were when supporting people at appointments with consultants.

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

The provider had embedded a clear culture of respect for the rights of the individual at all levels in the service. People’s capacity to consent to receiving care and support was assessed as part of the admission process. Ongoing assessments continued to consider people’s decision-making ability, and preferences, in relation to their care and support. People had been supported to choose activities such as outings and holidays.

Staff were skilled in providing information to people to enhance their understanding and involvement. People’s decisions had been recorded. Staff were seen to interact respectfully with people and seek their views and consent to any activities.