Skelton Court

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs. This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

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 were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

People’s care plans reflected their physical, mental, emotional and social needs. Care plans detailed people's preferences, likes, dislikes and routines. These provided staff with clear and detailed information to guide them on how to respond to ensure people's care needs were met in their preferred way. Care plans evidenced people’s involvement so they were able to make decisions on the care they wished to receive. Care plans were regularly reviewed to ensure staff could respond to any changes to people’s needs.

We observed person-centred interactions between staff and people which demonstrated staff knew people well and understood about their individual care and support.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

People had access to healthcare services to support them to maintain good health and ensure they received continuity of care. Records in people's care plans showed visits from health professionals such as GP's and district nurses.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

Since 2016 all organisations that provide publicly funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard. The Accessible Information Standard tells organisations what they have to do to help ensure people with a disability or sensory loss, and in some circumstances, their carers, get information in a way they can understand it. It also says that people should get the support they need in relation to communication.

Care plans contained information on people’s preferred methods of communication. People and their relatives were invited to attend regular meetings where information relating to the service was shared and the registered manager sought their thoughts and ideas on what could be improved.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

There was a procedure in place, which outlined how the provider would respond to complaints. Complaints had been dealt with in line with the provider's procedure and resolved to people's satisfaction in a timely manner.

People and their relatives said they knew how to raise their concerns and felt comfortable doing so. Comments included, “I know who the manager is. If I had a complaint, I would go to the team leader or manager” and “I know the manager, I have no complaints. The manager is very visible.”

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

Care plans contained information on how people communicated their needs. The service worked in partnership with other agencies to ensure people’s needs were met.

Staff had received training in equality and diversity to support their understanding of people’s individual needs, preferences and wishes and how to meet these.

The service was accessible for people with mobility needs. Corridors were wide enough to accommodate people in wheelchairs and there were ramps to aid access to the building. People had access to a lift to ensure they could move safely between floors. Where people were living with dementia, they had memory boxes placed outside their rooms to assist them to recognise their bedroom. There was signage to help people orientate themselves to bathrooms and toilets.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

People and their relatives were involved in planning how they wished care to be provided. Care plans contained information on people’s preferred methods of communication. People and relatives told us they were happy with the care and support they received. One person told us, “Staff are patient and kind. Yesterday we had a resident’s meeting, and we talked about the garden and plants.”

People and their relatives were invited to attend regular meetings where information relating to the service was shared and the registered manager sought their thoughts and ideas on what could be improved.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

The service was not providing any end-of-life care at the time of assessment. Care planning supported people and their loved ones to plan for their future and how they wanted end of life care to be provided.

The registered manager explained about their plans to involve people in the provision of care. One example of this was the garden. A person told us how they were being supported to help plan the flowers to go into the garden, as this was a particular interest of theirs. They had engaged the support of some local volunteers to help.