Forward Care

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 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 assessed and planned for people’s needs. People were asked for their views and involved in assessments. Staff regularly reviewed people’s care and adapted assessments and care plans in response to changes in their needs or choices.

Staff followed good practice and legislation to enable people to have fair and good outcomes from their care. Staff received regular training including specialist training about caring for people with a learning disability.

The provider encouraged staff to take a lead on a topic and to present this to the rest of the staff team. A staff member explained, “We each take a specific topic. This helps is improve our knowledge and grow in confidence.”

An external professional explained, “[Staff show] a clear understanding of people’s needs, including learning disabilities and epilepsy.” A staff member commented, “Training has given me knowledge and practical skills. I have learnt how to support people with learning disabilities and autism and ensure I work in line with current legislation and best practice.”

Staff worked well together. There were effective systems to help the staff communicate with each other. Staff at each scheme had regular handovers and meetings. They also met with staff from other schemes to discuss learning and share ideas. There were clear record keeping systems which enabled staff to share information. Staff told us they felt communication was good. A staff member commented, “We communicate through structured, daily shift handovers and digital care logs to ensure all staff have real-time updates on service users’ needs.”

Staff worked well with external professionals to share information and help make sure people received holistic support from everyone involved in their care. An external professional told us, “Forward Care maintained excellent communication with me.”

Staff assessed and planned for people’s mental and physical health needs. Staff empowered people to understand about their own health and make healthy choices.

Staff supported people to access health and social care professionals when they needed. A person explained, “Staff make sure I see whoever I need like the GP or dentist.” People took part in regular reviews of their health.

People told us staff helped them to make positive choices about food and exercise. They supported people with managing addictions and understanding their own mental health. Relatives confirmed this telling us they had seen improvements in people’s health. Their comments included, “Encouragement is given to eat healthily and go for walks” and “[Person] has eaten better and is looking healthier.”

Staff monitored people’s health, wellbeing and outcomes. Each person had an assigned key member of staff who helped them to plan and monitor their support. People explained they met keyworkers at least weekly. They discussed personal objectives and made plans to meet these. They monitored these and adapted plans when needed. Comments from people included, “I have a keyworker and we meet regularly” and “I meet my keyworker every week. This is helpful, we discuss any problem with my mental health, and this helps me to understand it better.”

The provider ensured people consented to their care and treatment. People were involved in planning their care and making decisions. People told us they were offered choices and staff always respected these. Comments from people included, “Staff do not do anything without asking my permission first”, “I can make my own decisions. Staff ask my permission for things.”

People read and signed agreements about different aspects of their care. Staff completed training about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). They understood about people’s rights and how to ensure people could make informed choices. Staff worked with people to help them understand their symptoms when they had a decline in their mental health. This empowered people to understand when they may make unwise decisions. Staff worked with people to provide information about keeping safe and monitoring their own conditions.

When people did not have the mental capacity to make more complex decisions, the provider had systems to ensure they discussed these with the person and their representatives to help make these decisions in accordance with the MCA and in people’s best interests.