GoodOaks Homecare - Epsom and Reigate

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 provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

Staff worked collaboratively with people, assessing their needs based on their home environment, their individual needs and their goals and aspirations. A relative told us, “(Registered manager) carried out quite a comprehensive assessment at the beginning and gathered a lot of information. She liaised with me and mum all the time.”

The assessment process was comprehensive, and all aspects of people’s needs were assessed, including general health, communication needs, age, race, religion and ethnicity. A member of staff told us, “The care plans are created by the manager, person who assesses the client, the carer and the client. As soon as there any changes to circumstances, medications or personal care, then the plans are reviewed and updated.” This was confirmed by a relative who told us, “We’ve amalgamated the tea and evening call so (family member) can have his evening meal and go to bed in one call rather than them being separate calls. It was a joint discussion between us all and we were all on the same page.”

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.

The provider used recognised tools in line with legislation and current evidence based good practice and standards. One member of staff told us, “One client has low Waterlow score, she isn’t drinking enough water, so we leave a bottle with her and check to see how much she has drunk at the next visit. If we are concerned about her, we will raise it with the office and raise with the GP.” The Waterlow Score is a risk assessment tool to identify patients at risk of developing pressure ulcers (bedsores).

Staff were supported through training and regular supervisions to support people in line with good practice guidelines and standards. Staff practices were checked and monitored by the management team.

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.

People benefited from robust systems and processes where information was shared by everyone involved in their care, with key partner agencies working collaboratively to achieve effective care for people. An external professional told us, “Their communication during discharge planning was excellent. They engaged in a collaborative, solution-focused way, ensuring all relevant information was shared, and confirming arrangements clearly, which gave reassurance to both the hospital team and patients.” The registered manager told us, “We try and get as many people involved as possible. We get OTs (occupational therapist) involved, it’s very nice to have the link to get advice. We tie in with virtual ward and community matrons.”

The provider had set up a real-time team communication and collaboration ‘app’ to share information with staff. One member of staff told us, “The group chat is very helpful, we get updates on the clients, reminding us about the routes changing when there is traffic.”

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.

Staff monitored people's health and liaised with relevant health care professionals to ensure people received the care and treatment they required. Staff recorded clear information about any health issues, action taken and the outcome of people's contact with health care professionals. People’s care plans explained the support people required to enable them to stay well and access healthcare services, where necessary. People with specific medical conditions, had detailed information within their care records which provided guidance for staff as to how this affected the person and how best to support them.

Where needed staff supported people with their food and drink preparation, people told us that staff always made sure they had food and drink available to them before they left the home.

The provider 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.

On the Providers Information Return (PIR) they stated, ‘For those clients who are in need of rehabilitation or a reablement programme, we work closely with physiotherapists to gather essential information on how best to support the client's recovery journey. This guidance is incorporated into the client's care plan, and we continuously monitor progress to ensure active reablement.’ We saw this in practice in people’s care plans. Relatives fed back, “They have continued to provide ongoing feedback based on their daily visits to improve my [family member’s] quality of life” and “When they come in, they are very bright, so he livens up a bit.”

Staff were aware of the importance of monitoring people’s health. One told us, “We have the information on the app and go into that person, and I tend to read back over other people’s comments to keep an eye on them. You have a run down on each person.” The registered manager told us, “We always do regular reviews, we have families on group chats as well and we can feed back to them as well. [Person’s] goal is to go on holiday again, so we tie that in with exercise strengthening. We want to make goals very personalised, they may just say I want to be safe in my home.”

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

Staff and leaders were aware that they needed to safeguard the rights of people who were assessed as being unable to make their own decisions and choices. One relative told us, “They always gain consent.”

Staff had received training and had a good understanding of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. MCA. They were clear about respecting people's rights and of the procedures to follow where a person lacked the capacity to make decisions about the care and treatment they received. One member of staff said, “We never assume they don’t have capacity even if the decision they are making is not wise. We can give them options, but the decision is down to them.” The registered manager told us that no one being supported by the service lacked the mental capacity to make day-to-day decisions.