Fernbank

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 under a previous provider we rated this key question good.

This is the first assessment for this service under its new provider. 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.

A thorough assessment was carried out before people moved into the service to ensure the correct level of support could be provided. Information gathered was used to create person-centred care and support plans.The registered manager told us people were encouraged to visit the home prior to accepting their placement.

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. Staff knew people well and we saw them supporting individuals in ways which reflected their assessed needs.

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.

Systems were in place to ensure information about people was shared appropriately with other services when needed.Staff within the service worked well together. Regular handover meetings ensured all staff were updated about people’s health and wellbeing.

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.

People were referred to medical and nursing professionals, such as psychiatrists, dieticians and district nurses when advice was needed. Everyone was under the care of a GP, and a nurse practitioner carried out a weekly telephone consultation with the service so that people’s health was kept under regular review. People were supported to eat a balanced diet and had their weight monitored regularly. Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) guidelines were available for staff to follow to help people who were at risk of choking, with their eating and drinking. The registered manager recognised the importance of oral health and supported people to access a dentist.

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

People’s care and support was regularly reviewed, and action was taken promptly when any changes to their health needs was identified.

A health professional told us, “They contact us appropriately and welcome clear advice and guidance. They are keen to maintain the safety of residents and will often seek clarification or question changes to treatment plans to ensure the plan is clear and correct for the individual.” A relative told us, “The home has been good at referring [person] to hospital when needed.”

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

During the inspection, we observed staff offering people choices and asking for their consent prior to providing support. A relative told us, “The staff always speak in a consensual way with her.”

When people lacked the mental capacity to make certain decisions for themselves, staff met with the relevant, authorised people to ensure any decisions made were in the person’s best interests. When needed, applications for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were made. When a person did not have a family member, or authorised person to speak on their behalf, the service used an advocacy service to ensure they had someone to speak up for them.