Gentle Folk Community 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 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 good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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. We saw that people’s needs were assessed prior to them commencing their care package and at regular intervals thereafter. People told us the service took time to get to know them and understand their needs and that the people who were important to them were involved. One relative told us, “[Before starting the service] Gentle Folk spoke on the phone and then we had a long and detailed meeting with [staff member]. It’s been an excellent service ever since.”

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. People told us they consistently received positive outcomes from the care they received and we saw that this was in line with best practice. We saw that staff received training in evidence based good practice and required standards and that the care plans we viewed reflected these.

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. A health and social care professional who provided us with feedback told us the service worked with them in a collaborative and professional manner with an emphasis on meeting people’s needs. The records we viewed also confirmed that the provider worked with many different stakeholders to benefit the people who used the service and to help keep them safe and well.

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. Where needed, staff supported people to remain healthy and well including supporting them to attend medical and health appointments. People also told us staff were supportive in medical emergencies, calling for medical assistance and supporting people whilst they waited for paramedics.

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. The people who provided us with feedback, and their relatives, consistently told us the service met their needs and monitored their expectations and outcomes; records we viewed confirmed this. One person who used the service said, “Yes, I have a care plan. They [Gentle Folk Community Care] are comprehensive and keep it up to date. They ask regularly if I want any changes to my care.”

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. The records we viewed demonstrated this and the people we spoke with confirmed that. People told us staff always asked for their consent at the point of delivering care and we saw that formal consent was also in place. The provider, did, however, routinely assess people’s capacity to receive care when this should only be completed if a person’s capacity is in doubt. This was discussed with the provider who acknowledged this and took steps to rectify.