Heatherstones Court

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. At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has changed to Outstanding. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently better than expected compared to similar services. People’s feedback described it as exceptional and distinctive.

This service scored 88 (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 always made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by thoroughly assessing and reviewing their health, care, well-being and communication needs with them.

A thorough and person-centred pre-admission process was undertaken with each person which ensured the service had the most up to date and relevant information about the person gathered from them, their relatives and professionals. Following an initial referral, contact was made with the person to arrange a visit to the service. This gave the person the opportunity to meet the staff and therapy team, discuss their needs and see where they would be staying. The registered manager said, “We recognise it can be daunting for people moving into somewhere they don’t know and many people are very anxious. We want to make things as smooth as possible, and people tell us these visits help. They can have a cuppa, sit and chat with us and ask anything they want.” Following assessment, the registered manager ensured everything the person needed, such as equipment and food, was in place before they moved in. One person said, “When I came to Heatherstones Court I didn't have anything with me as I came straight from hospital. They made sure I had everything and made me feel so relaxed."

We saw detailed assessments of people's care and support, with evidence of consultation with the person at every stage of assessment and review of their needs. Staff clearly understood their roles and responsibilities and respected the skills and input of all other professionals, internally and across other organisations, working together to support people effectively. This consistent, holistic approach to assessing, planning and delivering care meant people’s quality of life, outcomes and independence were maximised and often exceed expectations.

The provider always 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. They worked to develop evidence-based good practice and standards.

The staff team consistently and effectively planned and delivered rehabilitation care consulting with people throughout their stay to ensure care remained relevant, pro-active and centred around each person’s goals. Good outcomes for people were regularly achieved. Clinically approved assessment tools were utilised to monitor health risks. Reviews were meaningful, implementing a multi-disciplinary approach and ensured people were fully involved.

People’s nutritional needs were met. People were supported with meal preparation and cooking as part of their reablement journey.

The provider always worked well across teams and services to support people. They shared thorough assessments of people’s needs when they moved between different services, so people only needed to tell their story once.

People consistently told us the provider went above and beyond to support them when they faced barriers to accessing care or treatment from other services. Professionals described the service as highly proactive, collaborative and deeply person-centred.

One professional described working with the service on a range of cases to help people move on to safe, long-term accommodation. They highlighted the team’s exceptional commitment to person centred practice and said the service recognised that, “no one size fits all” and tailored support to each person’s unique circumstances.

In one example, a person with significant physical and mental health needs had been living in a severely cluttered home and was admitted to hospital. Following admission to the service, staff worked closely with partners to identify issues that had previously been hidden in the community. Through effective joint working, staff secured appropriate accommodation in a location of the person’s choosing, which greatly improved their wellbeing. Staff ensured a comprehensive community care package was in place prior to the person’s discharge resulting in the person being able to successfully manage their tenancy.

Another example involved a person who sustained serious injuries in an accident and could no longer access their previous home due to its layout. Heatherstones Court provided an environment where the person could adjust to using a wheelchair, develop new skills and regain the capability to manage a home independently. Staff worked with partners to secure accommodation as close as possible to the person’s preferred area. Through the service’s rehabilitation, the person was able to rebuild confidence, adapt to new abilities and return to a meaningful, fulfilling life.

These examples reflect a strong culture of personalised, empowering support that consistently leads to exceptional outcomes for people.

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 had created an embedded culture where staff understood the importance of health promotion. Established systems ensured staff were actively supported and empowered to promote healthier lives, support people to make their own choices about their health and maximise independence. This proactive and empowering approach meant people experienced significant improvements in both well-being and confidence. For example, staff supported people in accessing all necessary medical appointments and ongoing health monitoring, as well as input from occupational therapists and physiotherapists to assess and improve mobility. Stabilising people’s health and enabling their mobility contributed to people regaining as much independence as possible.

Staff showed a deep commitment to helping people understand their conditions and make informed decisions.For example, 1 person was admitted with complex health issues and needed re-housing. The person’s goals were to become independent in managing their own personal care,meal preparation and medications. With support from staff they achieved independence in 2 of these goals but struggled to manage medication due to impaired vision. Staff assisted in arranging an optician’s appointment and with new glasses and a battery-operated medicines dispenser the person was able to manage their own medicines. Staff also supported with housing applications, finances and finding furniture and the person was discharged to a new property in an area they knew well. The person said, “Staff looked after me as if I was special. They helped me to improve every day, so I could live a normal life as possible. They went above and beyond and I will never forget what the staff have done for me.”

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

Highly effective processes were in place to monitor people’s care and treatment and ensure it continuously improved to help individuals meet their goals. The provider shared numerous examples of people experiencing positive outcomes, regaining their independence and improving their quality of life. The collaborative approach between the reablement service, health and social care professionals and other agencies meant outcomes were monitored, both at an individual level but also within the wider context of the health and social care system.

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

The MCA provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. The MCA requires that, as far as possible, people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. When they lack mental capacity to make particular decisions, any made on their behalf must be in their best interests and as least restrictive as possible. People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment when this is in their best interests and legally authorised under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA).

The provider ensured people’s consent to care, and treatment was obtained, recorded and reviewed in line with legal and ethical standards. Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and applied them in everyday practice, supporting people to make informed decisions by providing clear information in a way they could understand.

Consent was recorded in people’s care files. Where people lacked capacity to make a particular decision, mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions were completed.

We observed staff offered people choices and asked for their consent before providing any care or support.