The Farmhouse

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.

People’s needs had been assessed when they moved into The Farmhouse. Assessments were regularly reviewed, and support plans were updated to reflect any changes in a person’s needs, wishes or personal goals. Relatives and others who were important in people’s lives were included in the assessment process.

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

Evidence-based care underpinned the policies, procedures and ways of working within The Farmhouse. Examples of this were seen in the use of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) to improve people’s quality of life. There was a commitment to following nationally recognised programmes such as Stopping Over Medication of People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People (STOMP). Records showed where staff had sought advice and guidance from external professionals to ensure people’s support was in line with good practice. A member of staff acted in a lead role for infection prevention and control, attending external professional meetings and keeping the service up to date with good practice.

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.

Systems were in place to ensure information was shared with team members such as shift handovers and team meetings. Records showed staff worked collaboratively with external professionals such as local authority safeguarding teams and commissioners to ensure people experienced positive outcomes. People had documents referred to as health and communication passports which helped other services understand people’s needs and wishes.

Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

People were supported to proactively manage their health and wellbeing. Records showed staff supported them with routine health appointments such as vaccinations, medicine reviews, opticians and dentists. In addition, people had access to, for example, psychiatry services and the provider’s positive behaviour support team to maintain their overall wellbeing.

People were supported to make healthier lifestyle choices such as with diet and exercise. Staff also sought advice from services such as speech and language therapists (SALT) where needed in order to promote people’s safety and wellbeing. Staff knew people well and were able to quickly identify if people may be experiencing any new health or wellbeing issues. Records showed staff acted in a timely manner to address concerns with appropriate services such as neurology.

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.

Systems were in place to regularly monitor and review the support people received. This enabled staff to identify where any changes were needed and take action to ensure support remained effective and consistent. For example, monitoring identified that a person was more settled and experienced improved outcomes with increased staff interaction in the afternoons. The service was working towards implementing this consistently.

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

Staff had completed training on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and demonstrated understanding of how to apply its principles in their day-to-day practice. Where people lacked mental capacity to understand and make more complex decisions and choices, such as with aspects of healthcare, records showed staff had followed best interest decision making processes in line with the MCA. People also had access to independent advocacy services where needed.