Bracknell Care home

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 since registration. 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’s needs were assessed prior to them moving into Bracknell Care Home. The assessment information was detailed and covered areas including risks to people’s safety, their preferences, health and communication needs. This helped the registered manager and clinical team ensure they were able to meet the persons needs prior to them moving in.

The registered manager told us they attended face to face assessments with people, so when they moved to the home, they were welcomed by a friendly face who they were able to approach with any concerns. They added, “We encourage families to bring in personal items, so people have familiar things to come into.”

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.

The provider had systems in place to ensure the registered manager and staff were up to date with best practice. In addition to training and mentoring, staff competence was assessed in areas including maintaining people’s skin integrity, moving and handling and supporting people who required their food and drinks to be modified to different consistencies.

A ‘Champions’ programme had been developed which allocated key areas of support to individual team members based on their individual strengths, interests, and areas of expertise. These roles include key areas such as MCA and best interest decision-making, mental health first aid, pressure injury prevention, safeguarding, falls and postural care, and infection control. Champions were provided with additional training and support to remain updated on best practice in their relevant area.

The provider had also introduced an electronic care records system which utilised best practice tools such as monitoring people’s nutritional needs and skin integrity risks. This enabled staff to ensure any risks identified were effectively monitored.

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.

People benefitted from a well-structured staff team. Staff told us they felt the team worked well together and were able to discuss any issues and find a resolution. One staff member told us, “We have different jobs here, but we are one team. Everyone is the same here, we are all equal and will all help each other.”

The service had developed a good working relationship with their local GP service. Weekly visits to the home were completed with staff passing on relevant information to ensure appointments went smoothly for people. Health monitoring information was available to the GP to support them in their assessments. Health professionals told us they had developed a trusting relationship with staff and were confident that any advice provided would be communicated to the staff team and consistently followed.

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 had good access to healthcare professionals including weekly visits from the GP and regular appointments with chiropody, sight and dental checks. Staff accompanied people to attend health appointments where this was requested.

People had access to a variety of support and activities to support their physical health and mental wellbeing. People were encouraged to maintain their mobility and regular exercise groups were held to support people’s movement. Where people preferred or needed to spend the majority of time in their rooms, staff spent time with them doing things they personally enjoyed minimising the risk of people feeling isolated. The garden was used as much as possible to encourage people to spend time outside.

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.

Records showed that people’s care and health needs were reviewed regularly to ensure their needs and wishes were being met in the way they preferred. Care plans contained information regarding people’s desired outcome and the support they required for these to be met. People were supported by a skilled nursing team who ensured people’s health care needs were clearly recorded along with any signs of concern staff should report. Where clinical risks were identified, these were closely monitored to help keep people healthy and promote their wellbeing.

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

People’s consent was gained prior to supporting people with their care. We observed staff offered choices to people throughout the day. Information was provided to people in a clear way to ensure different options were understood. One person told us, “They support me well enough [with a specific health condition] but I’m still free to do what I want to do.”

Systems were in place to ensure people’s rights were protected and the principles of the MCA were followed. Decision specific capacity assessments were completed to determine people’s capacity. Where people were found to lack capacity for specific decisions, best interest decisions were recorded. These took into account any previous wishes of the person and with input from people who knew the person best, health professionals and staff as appropriate. Staff received training in relation to the MCA and understood their responsibility in ensuring people’s rights were protected. One staff member told us, “They have every right to say no so we have to ask their permission and respect their choices.”