Polesworth Group Newborough Close

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 inspection for this newly registered 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.

The provider’s policy was to assess people’s needs prior to moving into services. In relation to the people living at Newborough Close, people were already known to the provider and staff team. The provider and management team had recognised people’s changing needs as they become older in years and identified that their previous home may become unsuitable and pose potential risks of harm from trips and falls due to steps and stairs. As a result, the provider had assessed a bungalow environment would better suit people’s needs and achieve better outcomes in terms of their wellbeing into older age. The group of 4 people had similar assessed needs, and this meant they moved together into their current home.

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 and management team worked with healthcare professionals to ensure evidence-based care and treatment was provided to people. A staff member shared an example with us about a recent referral that had been made for 1 person following some concerns about changes in their mental wellbeing.

Staff told us they had completed all the training they felt they needed and further opportunities were offered to them. One staff member told us, “If a person had a new health issue, the manager would arrange further training on that for us. We understand it is important to follow guidance.”

Staff promoted healthy eating whilst giving people choices about what they ate and drank. Staff recognised the importance of this, and encouraging people to eat fruit and vegetables in line with national guidance. People and relatives spoke very positively about the quality of the food provided. One person told us, “The food here is very good.” People told us they used to go grocery shopping with staff but now preferred to sit together with staff doing an online order and deciding together what items to order. One person told us, “My favourite is a luncheon meat sandwich. If I would like a drink anytime, I just ask staff, water, juice or coffee.” A staff member told us, “It’s important to respect some people have traditional food choices.”

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.

Relatives were positive about the provider, management and staff team. One relative told us, “I know my relative is safe and well looked after, you can tell as soon as you walk through the door that everything is first class.” All relatives felt their feedback was sought by the provider, that they were listened to and worked together.

Staff feedback was positive about how they worked well together as a team. Information was shared for example about people’s health care appointments, so people were supported to attend, and nothing was missed.

One staff member told us, “If we need to support someone to the nurse, doctors or anywhere else, we always record the details of the appointment and follow any guidance given.”

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.

Staff knew people well and looked for any changes in their health and wellbeing so early intervention, such as arranging a GP appointment, could take place. One staff member told us, “[Name] has been a bit more confused lately, so we have arranged a referral to the memory clinic.”

At the time of our inspection visit, the local area was experiencing a heatwave, and outdoor temperatures were very high. Throughout the day, we observed the staff member frequently offered people drinks and gently reminded them that as it was hotter than usual it was important to drink well.

People were supported to attend their health check‑ups, and staff worked with external healthcare professionals to ensure appointments were arranged and followed up. This helped promote people’s well-being and supported early identification of any changes in their health needs. One person had recently been prescribed a new medicine and staff were monitoring how this going and sharing feedback with the person’s GP.

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it.

People and relatives told us staff supported them in accessing healthcare whenever needed.

Staff and the management team worked together to achieve positive outcomes for people. For example, 1 relative told us, “The staff and manager raised an issue with me about a different kind of wheelchair needed for [name] which would be able to be used on the homes’ minibus and assist [name] in getting out and about to different places. This was discussed with me before being purchased and has led to more outings.”

Staff knew what people enjoyed doing and what was important to them. One person told us, “I really like doing my arts and crafts and [staff name] sits with us and we chat.”

The management team were in the process of moving to electronic care planning and told us this would enable greater levels of recording by staff of people’s achievements and outcomes.

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

People appeared at ease with staff, and throughout our inspection we saw staff explain to people what was happening and seek their consent. For example, the registered manager explained to people who we were and asked if he could show us around their home. A staff member asked people if they, (staff) could close their bedroom curtains to prevent the sunshine making the room too hot. This showed staff respected people’s home, involved them in decisions and sought their consent.

All staff gave examples in their feedback to us on how they gained consent before supported people with personal care. One staff member told us, “I did the learning disability training and from this it taught me the importance of advocating for people. If I was supporting someone to an appointment and thought something did not sound right for the person, I would say something.”