Little Acorns

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 assessment for this service. 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 made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

People told us they were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care. One person told us how they spoke with staff about changes to their care plan. The manager told us, “We carry out assessments to make sure we can meet people’s needs, but also to ensure they fit the dynamic of the home.” Care plans we looked at showed that a comprehensive assessment had taken place to ensure people’s needs could be met. The care plans were informative and clear. People were assessed prior to moving to the service to ensure their needs could be met.

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.

We could not get direct feedback from people in relation to delivering evidence-based care and treatment. However, we received feedback from staff and managers which demonstrated that people were supported in line with their needs, including their nutrition and hydration needs. A member of staff told us, “We encourage the best we can to get people to eat well, and to maintain their eating. The Wednesday fry up morning is very popular.” Staff told us people's care plans were kept up to date to include their current needs, how these were to be met and desired outcomes. Staff told us they assisted people to access the support they needed from other professionals and services.

Processes were in place which showed people’s needs had been identified and continued to be reviewed and amended. Support from specialist teams was sought when required.
 

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.

We received positive feedback from people and professionals. A health professional told us, “[Manager] is quick to respond via email and on her mobile. The staff are all nice and kind people.”

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 they received support to access healthcare, inside and outside of the service. A member of staff told us, “We support them with all their healthcare needs. We aim for people to be as safe and healthy as they can be regardless of their lifestyle choices.”

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 experienced positive outcomes and had planned goals for the future. Feedback from staff confirmed people’s care and progress were monitored. Staff were knowledgeable and supportive of people's goals and wishes. One member of staff told us, “We look at people’s goals and wishes and try and support them with those. For some it is to move on from here to be more independent and for others it is to just keep them safe.” Processes were in place to ensure people’s outcomes were monitored, and any changes were implemented. This was evidenced in people’s care plan reviews. Care plans were audited to ensure regular reviews took place and any actions were followed up.

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

People had been assessed for their capacity to consent to aspects of their care. When people were assessed as lacking capacity at certain times (such as when intoxicated) to make specific decisions, best interest decisions were carried out. These were documented and showed who was involved in the decision-making process and how the decision had been reached. We saw examples of people consenting to decisions that may be unwise, but this was their wish. Staff managed this appropriately.

Staff knew about consent and had received appropriate training. One member of staff told us, “I’ve done training around capacity and consent and the Mental Capacity Act.”