Unique Community Services Leeds

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 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 management team carried out a detailed assessment of people’s needs prior to support commencing. Assessments were comprehensive and captured people’s wishes and needs, their capacity, communication preferences, and the things that were important to them, such as personal and family relationships.

People’s histories were reflected within their care plans, informed by information gathered from the person themselves, their relatives, and the professionals involved in their care. This supported a holistic understanding of each individual and helped ensure care was tailored and person‑centred.

The provider did not always make sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. Staff did not always involve people in planning.

We found evidence that staff were administering over‑the‑counter pain relief that had not been prescribed for the person. When this was discussed with the management team, they advised that they would ensure the medication was prescribed by the person’s GP as a PRN (when required) medicine. They confirmed this would then be stored and recorded safely in line with medicines management requirements.

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.

People were supported to safely navigate relationships with others and encouraged to broaden their social networks through community-based activities. Staff promoted engagement in activities that were meaningful to each person. Daily notes were completed and provided clear information about people’s activities, welfare, presentation and engagement. This supported an overview of people’s day‑to‑day experiences and enabled staff to identify any emerging patterns, themes or changes.

Care plans contained detailed information on how best to support each person, ensuring that what mattered to them was reflected in their day‑to‑day support. Relatives told us the service worked collaboratively with them to plan care and treatment. One relative said, “They are quite complex and staff keep me updated. If there’s any changes, staff ring for advice, tell me what they think, ask what I think, and we make a plan together.”

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.

We reviewed records which evidenced effective engagement with external professionals to support positive outcomes for people and ensure they received the correct care and support. This included working closely with external agencies and attending multidisciplinary meetings to ensure people’s voices were heard and considered when decisions were discussed that affected their lives.

Relative feedback was mainly positive. One relative told us, “[Relative] was previously with another company, and they presented with lots of behaviours because their needs were not being met. Here they are much happier. [Staff member] is amazing. They are very, very caring, and a great advocate for [relative].”

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.

The management team explained how people were encouraged and supported to lead healthier lifestyles. People were supported to access a range of healthcare services, including GPs, dental services, opticians and specialist professionals such as specialist nurses, speech and language therapists and psychiatrists. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s health needs, and support plans contained detailed information relating to both their physical and emotional wellbeing.

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.

Records demonstrated that management were monitoring care and treatment through regular review of documentation and the implementation of strategies designed to support improved outcomes. Goals were identified in discussions with people and records.

One relative told us, “[Relative] is improving all the time. The staff are helping them to develop; staff take [relative] out every day. They are getting better, more verbal and making sentences a bit better. Staff encourage [relative] to do things for themself, like getting dressed and showered, cooking and baking, washing the pots and sweeping.”

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

We found that staff and the management team were working in line with the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). People were not subjected to unlawful or excessive restrictions and were supported to have choice, control and freedom over their daily lives. Capacity to consent was considered and documented within support plans, showing a clear understanding of capacity, consent and the importance of supporting people to make their own decisions wherever possible.