Utopia Care Limited - Thurrock Branch

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 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them. The registered manager told us people were fully assessed before they started using the service and this was regularly reviewed with them and their relatives. A person-centred care package was put in place and regularly reviewed. Staff had access to up-to-date information on people’s care via the care planning app they used and a printed copy was also kept in peoples’ home. A member of staff told us, “We get regular updates from the manager if any changes have been made to peoples care plans.” A relative told us, “The care plan has recently been updated. I have read through it; it is worded in a very respectful way. When it was reviewed, I was involved, I am very happy with the care plan.” However, a few people told us they had not been involved in writing the care plan. The registered manager told us, “Since the last inspection, we have introduced a written care plan agreement to ensure that people and relatives can review and sign to confirm their understanding and consent to the planned care and support.”

The service 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. Staff knew people well and how they wished to be supported with food and drink. Assessments were in place to help staff recognise the support people required and staff had undergone extensive training to recognise if people were choking and how they could intervene. Where required the service liaised with health professionals to ensure people were receiving the correct support with their food and nutrition.

A relative told us, “[Relative] sees the same staff frequently; new staff work alongside one of the regular carers so [relative] can get to know them. They understand [relative] has Alzheimer’s and appear to understand how to handle [relative] as they can become a little difficult at times.” Another relative told us, “The company has listened to me; I have explained to them what [relative] is like, and they understand how I want them cared for. We work well as a team together, we understand that if they can’t get [relative] to do something like take her medication, I will do it later in the day. The communication book we have in the kitchen works well.”

The service 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 had access to the information they needed to work with people and where required, helped them safely transition between healthcare teams. The registered manager told us they had developed good links with other health professionals. Regular staff meetings, management meetings and supervision sessions were all in place to ensure staff were provided with current information to work together to support people. A staff member told us, “Management have an open-door policy, and we can discuss anything with them at any time.”

The service 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 need for care and support. A member of staff told us, “I familiarise myself with a person’s care plan and get to know the person before supporting them. I want to make sure they can live their best life.” A person told us, “The staff respect that I want to be as independent as possible.” A relative told us, “We have no concerns. I am very happy. The staff work well with other professionals. They are good that. They have advised me to seek medical attention when they have felt there was a concern.”

However, a relative told us, “Although I am happy with the staff and the way they support [relative], I am not happy with the quality of care. [Relative’s] needs are not met entirely, [relative] is being taken out, but days out are not planned, and [relative] returns soiled on occasions.” Following the inspection, the registered manager told us they were aware of the concerns, had addressed the concerns with the staff members involved and had arranged additional training and supervision. The registered manager also addressed the identified concerns with the relative.

The service routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both people’s and clinical expectations. The registered manager told us they had several systems in place to help them monitor outcomes for people. This included asking people for their feedback through telephone monitoring calls, regular visits, and the completion of surveys on their care experience. A relative told us, “I feel confident that if I had any problems to ring the manager and I know they would try to sort it.” Another relative told us, “I would speak to the manager if I had a concern. I did raise a concern, and it was dealt with very quickly.”

A person told us, “I haven’t had a questionnaire, but I had a face to face talk a few weeks ago with the manager. They asked how they could improve things.”

We did not look at Consent to care and treatment during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.