Vanguards Healthcare Ltd

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 of 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.

Staff made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, well-being and communication needs with them. People's needs were holistically assessed over a period of time before they received care from the service. Guidance on how to support people with specific needs was incorporated into ongoing assessment of needs. When needs changed, so did the assessment and the guidance for staff. The registered manager met with people and their relatives before packages of care started to ensure their needs could be met by the service. A relative commented, “[Name] received an initial assessment, they were visited, and I was sent a list to comment on.”

Staff 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 plans were developed for each identified care need and staff had guidance on how to meet those needs. A relative commented, “There was an initial assessment of [Name]’s needs and their care plan is regularly updated.” Staff applied learning effectively in line with best practice, which led to good outcomes for people and supported a better quality of life. A relative told us, “The carers may help [Name] with a light lunch, [Name] can still do some cooking. Staff are trained well to meet [Name]’s needs I would think from what [Name] tells me, they do a good job.”

Staff at the service 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 service had systems in place for staff to communicate with each other which enabled them to effectively deliver people’s care and support. A staff member commented, “I am always prompted to open the care plan and risk assessment on our digital app when I am assigned to a shift and when I clock in for a shift.”Relatives had access to the App to monitor their loved one’s well-being. A relative commented, “The care plan and daily notes are kept on the App, it is lovely to read on the App when the carers comment that they had a lovely chat with [Name].” Staff made timely referrals and worked well with other agencies to ensure people's treatment needs were met. A relative told us, “The occupational therapist OT visits [Name] at home to encourage movement and the GP occasionally visits.”

Staff at the service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. Records showed people received regular health checks, and included any specialist advice and guidance, that had been obtained where people had additional support needs, such as, from the GP, or district nursing service. Staff had the knowledge to monitor and identify a deterioration in a person’s health. A relative commented, “If [Name] is unwell the carers act appropriately, recently they had an infection and were hallucinating, so the carer called an ambulance and informed me.”

Staff routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves. Care plans were personalised to ensure outcomes could be met, which meant people received safe and effective support. There was evidence of regular reviews and action being taken immediately following any changes to people’s needs. A relative told us, “[Name]’s care plan is on the staff phone App, it gets updated as necessary, all very professional.” During reviews, care needs were discussed to improve outcomes. Regular audits were also carried out to monitor and improve outcomes.

Staff at the service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. People’s consent to care and support was respected by staff. A staff member commented, “It is very important to seek consent before supporting people and we expect them to express their wishes in the care provided.” Care plans contained evidence that consent to care documents had been obtained from people’s legal representatives.