Akash Care (Akash Training Agency Ltd)

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. 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 were supported to have consistent and effective care by staff. The provider had pre-admission assessment procedures to understand people’s needs and ensure they were able to meet them. The registered manager also screened new referrals holistically, to be better informed about how best to guide staff to support people. People and their relatives, where appropriate, were involved in assessing their needs, and in developing and agreeing their care plans and risk assessments. People’s care plans included information about their personal histories, interests and hobbies, religion and culture, along with information about their health, care and communication needs. A person’s relative told us, “[Registered manager] came out initially to do the assessment, and it felt as though we had known them for years”.

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 liaised with health and care professionals and made appropriate referrals for specialist support. People lived in their own homes and could choose what they ate. One person told us, “I get ready meals, and they put them in the oven for me and they always ask me what I want. Sometimes they will cook a meal from scratch if that's what I want. They always tell me how important it is that I drink plenty.”

People’s care plans were outcome based and included information about maintaining their independence as much as possible. They included guidance for staff on delivering the best care possible in relation to people’s individual needs, choices and preferences. People told us staff provided them with the support they needed regarding nutrition and hydration, and staff knew their likes and dislikes.

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.

Staff worked with other services to understand and meet people’s needs. For example, district nurses and social workers. Care plans included details about people’s health conditions and were updated when needs changed. We saw the service was responsive and contacted appropriate healthcare professionals such as an emergency duty district nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacy and GP. The registered manager had systems in place to make sure information was shared in a timely manner by everyone involved in people’s care. This all helped to ensure a joined up, consistent approach to delivering safe and effective care to people in line with their individually assessed needs and preferences. A relative told us, “They are very good at liaising with and keeping in contact with the GP and with me, but they also include my (relative) and some of these conversations. They have just about still got capacity.” Another person’s relative told us, “My biggest problem is not with caring for my (relative) but with navigating the system both health and social care and [registered manager] has really helped us with that. For example, we're currently looking at Continuing Health Care (CHC) funding, and [registered manager] has given me some steers to help me to navigate that system.”

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.

Information about people’s health and wellbeing needs was included in their care plans and risk assessments. People were supported to live healthier lives by management and staff who understood their health needs and how best to support people to access health care. Staff encouraged and supported people to make healthier choices to help promote and maintain their health and wellbeing but were also mindful that the person had the final say on decisions relating to their care.

The provider’s staff regularly monitored people’s health and supported people to access external primary healthcare support from GPs etc, as well as specialist hospital support when needed.

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 management team carried out quality assurance spot checks on the care practice of members of staff. These helped make sure the care and support people received was safe and being carried out to a good standard. Care plans and risk assessments were updated when people’s needs were changing. Staff understood the importance of monitoring people for any physical or behavioural changes which might indicate a health condition or loss of skills. For example, we saw staff contacted emergency duty district nurse when they suspected that a person might need hospitalisation.

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

Discussions about consent had taken place with people and we saw evidence of signed forms giving consent for care and support. People had been supported to be involved in decisions about their care and support. Where people had not been able to make any particular decisions, the provider ensured these were made in line with the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Best Interest procedures. Staff understood the importance of seeking consent before carrying out any support to people.