Elgar Court Care Home

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 and their relatives were always involved in care planning and care plans were person-centred.

Assessments of people’s needs were carried out prior to people moving into the home. This involved the person and their relatives and if required, other external agencies were involved in planning of a person’s care and support needs.

Regular reviews of people’s care plans were evident during our assessment, and we reviewed several care plans and, care plan audits which were completed by the management team.

During the daily meeting with leaders of the home, the meeting focused on one resident for the day. Resident of the day is discussed at each daily meeting, where the home selects one resident to focus on. This involves reviewing their day‑to‑day support needs, care plan, health, and any other relevant information to ensure their care remains personalised and up to date.

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.

Care was planned and delivered in accordance with established best practice and evidence‑based standards. Teams worked in partnership with people to keep their priorities at the heart of decision‑making. Effective use of clinical tools and guidance enabled ongoing assessment, monitoring, and adjustment of support, ensuring care was safe, personalised, and consistently reviewed to maximise outcomes.

For example, the records we reviewed showed the use of the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) to identify any risks associated with a person’s weight. Where risks were identified, an action plan was implemented with input from the person to agree on next steps.

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.

The home worked consistently with various professionals to meet people’s needs and achieve positive outcomes. Feedback from professionals included, “Staff are always attentive to people’s needs, staff are friendly, helpful and approachable. People always seem happy and well cared for”, and “Staff treat people with dignity and respect, are always aware of people’s wishes and respect people’s decisions and actions. All staff are very warm, welcoming and always seem so happy”.

All staff maintained professional relationships with healthcare professionals who supported them. This ensured timely support was available to the provider when required. Weekly visits from healthcare professionals included GP’s, advanced nurse practitioners and district nurses were evident as part of the assessment.

Daily staff meetings were held with all leaders to discuss any changes in people’s care and support needs following any appointments with external professionals. This was then effectively cascaded to all staff.

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

There are champions within the service who actively support staff to make sure people experience good healthcare outcomes leading to high quality of life. This included leads for medication, diet and nutrition, hydration and palliative care. These champions worked alongside staff teams to share best practice and support high‑quality care in their chosen areas.

Staff completed training in several areas to aid support with people’s health needs. This included diabetes, dysphagia, nutrition and hydration and mental health.

Staff empowered people to make choices about their health and how it should be monitored. Care plans were clear with the support people needed to meet their health needs. Staff understood people’s health needs and knew at which points to escalate any concerns they had about people’s health or well-being.

A person who moved into the home was supported to find a part‑time job to enhance their wellbeing and independence. They were very sociable and described themselves as “the hostess with the mostess.” Staff helped them write a CV and contact local businesses, and they were successful in securing a role in a nearby charity shop. The person feedback they were “over the moon” to have gained employment.

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.

Care plans clearly showed people’s desired outcomes and how they wanted to be supported. Care plans were regularly audited to monitor people’s progress and identify any reviews or changes that were required.

One example of this was when a person moved in, they had limited mobility and only had the use of their wheelchair. After discussions with leaders, the person expressed a desire to be more independent, mobilise without aids and access local amenities. A detailed plan was devised, led by the person, and shared with the staff. The person now independently mobilises without the use of walking aids and accesses the community regularly with their relative. The relative said, “The home has given me my (relatives name) back, and for that I can never thank them enough, they have saved their life”. This was one of several clear examples of the positive outcomes achieved by the provider, and the team placed a strong emphasis on recognising and celebrating these successes. People’s care plans included photographic evidence which demonstrated the meaningful progress and improvements people had made.

The provider used an electronic care planning system to ensure people’s care plans were accessible. The system enabled any immediate reviews or updates to be available to staff or external professionals.

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

Practices regarding consentand records are activelymonitored and reviewed toimprove how people areinvolved in making decisionsabout their care andtreatment. Engagement withstakeholders, including peoplewho use services and their family, friends and othercarers, informed thedevelopment of tools and support to aid informedconsent. The provider consistently sought, explained, and respected people’s consent, ensuring their choices were central to every decision. Where appropriate, families or relatives were involved so people had the support they needed to make informed choices. Individuals’ decisions were fully honoured and reflected throughout their care.

The provider had a dedicated palliative care champion working closely with people to ensure their wishes are understood, respected, and clearly reflected in their care plans. They collaborated with families and external professionals to provide coordinated, compassionate support throughout the person’s end‑of‑life care.

When a person was assessed as lacking capacity, Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and best‑interest processes were completed to ensure all decisions were lawful, proportionate, and tailored to the specific circumstances. All staff demonstrated a strong understanding of the legislation and their legal responsibilities when people were unable to make certain decisions independently.