Stonecroft

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 79 (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.

Assessments of people's needs were completed before they moved into the service, and people were involved in the assessment process wherever possible. Staff developed care plans using information gathered from a variety of sources, including meetings with social workers, health histories, previous care records, and discussions with the person and those important to them.

People's likes, dislikes, preferences, and choices were clearly documented throughout their support plans and reflected their assessed needs. These detailed plans enabled staff to understand each person's background, current needs, interests, and preferred ways of being supported before they began receiving support from the service.

When new people moved into the service, staff attended transition and handover meetings to ensure they understood the person's needs, preferences, and support requirements and could provide consistent, person-centred care from the outset.

Staff considered people's sensory needs as part of the assessment process. They recognised the importance of sensory preferences and sensitivities and ensured staff understood each person's individual sensory needs so they could provide appropriate support and create comfortable environments.

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 completed a range of training to support them in delivering evidence-based care. Staff told us the training was relevant, helpful, and supported them in carrying out their roles effectively. Staff met regularly with the registered manager to discuss their practice, review performance, and share learning and best practice.

Staff applied their training and learning in line with current professional guidance and best practice, including the principles of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS). The registered manager remained up to date with best practice guidance relating to supporting people with learning disabilities and autistic people and ensured this was reflected in the support provided. One visiting professional said, “The service has engaged well in workshops provided by the community learning disability team, for example on demand avoidance and autism. Any workshops provided are very well attended.”

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 effectively with health and social care professionals to ensure people received coordinated and responsive support. People had health action plans in place, which provided important information about their health needs and helped professionals deliver appropriate care and treatment. A range of professionals supported people using the service, including speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, learning disability nurses, and other healthcare specialists. One visiting professional said, “Carers listen to individuals, and enable them to access appropriate services. Carers make referrals for support for positive behaviour support, speech and language therapy, or occupational therapy when they observe or assess changes in need.”

Staff clearly documented people's physical and emotional needs, together with professional recommendations, interventions, and outcomes. Staff told us they worked closely with colleagues and the registered manager to ensure continuity of care. They attended face-to-face and telephone meetings, shared relevant information about people's support needs, and communicated any concerns promptly. Staff told us the registered manager responded appropriately to concerns raised and acted when required.

The service welcomed and promoted the involvement of advocates where appropriate. Advocates supported people to express their views and wishes, access information and services, understand their rights, and make informed choices about their care and support.

The provider always supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to fully maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

The provider and registered manager took a highly proactive approach to improving people's health and wellbeing. Staff supported people to access health care screening and healthcare services when people needed support. They made referrals to other organisations and requested immediate support if people experienced an issue with their health. This approach helped to improve people's quality of life and supported them to achieve positive health outcomes.

The service placed a strong emphasis on promoting healthy lifestyles and supporting people to maintain a nutritious and balanced diet. Staff encouraged people to make informed choices about their meals and involved them in meal planning and preparation wherever possible. This approach not only promoted healthy eating but also helped people develop and maintain important daily living skills, independence and confidence.

The provider monitored all people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured outcomes were positive and consistent, and they fully met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

The provider took great pride in involving people, their relatives, staff and other professionals as key players in ensuring the best outcomes for people. People told us they were happy with how they spent their time. Staff were keen to ensure people's outcomes were met and were focused on promoting people's wellbeing.

The service has achieved significant positive outcomes for people through a consistent person-centred approach. One person who did not communicate verbally when they moved into the service now uses key words to express their needs, wishes and preferences, enabling greater choice, independence and social engagement. Another person who previously experienced difficulties with aspects of personal care has developed increased independence and confidence in managing their personal care needs, resulting in improved dignity, wellbeing and quality of life. A further individual has successfully reduced their reliance on medication, supporting greater independence, improved wellbeing and increased involvement in managing their own health needs. These outcomes demonstrate the service's ability to deliver meaningful and sustained improvements in people's independence, confidence, dignity and overall quality of life.

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

The registered provider, the registered manager and staff were passionate about supporting people in the least restrictive way and always considered and acted in people's best interests. The service was skilled in how it obtained people's consent for care and treatment, adapting their approach to suit individuals needs and involving them in related decisions and assessing capacity when needed.

Records showed us where assessments demonstrated a person was unable to make a specific decision capacity assessments were completed and best interest decisions had been made with the involvement of the person, family and appropriate health or care professionals. Examples included administering medicine and personal care.