EVHM LLP - 24 Tower Road West

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.

Before a new person moved to the service, or whenever people’s needs changed, a full assessment was carried out to ensure staff could meet the person’s needs. There were systems to ensure people's health, social, sexual, spiritual and emotional needs were continually assessed and when people’s needs changed, their care plans were amended. Staff worked closely with people’s relatives and relevant professionals. A relative told us in relation to a recent admission to the service, “[Person] has a big room with a lovely outlook. So far, the move has been better than expected, and it has been used as an opportunity to reset goals and targets and seems to be working well.”

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 in good health and rarely needed professional support but there were good systems in place to ensure that if advice and guidance was needed this was sought.

People’s care records stated their nutritional needs, dietary requirements, likes, dislikes and any allergies. Training records showed staff had completed training courses to enable them support people appropriately with their nutritional needs.

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’s relatives told us they were kept informed about any events or changes in their family member’s health and felt confident staff sought professional input whenever it was needed.

Staff gave us examples of how one person used a taxi service to get to and from their day centre. The same taxi driver had supported the person for a number of years and if they were on leave, they made arrangements for someone else to support the person. We saw the person being supported from the car to the door and it was evident they had a very good relationship with each other.

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 supported people to attend all health appointments as needed. Regular appointments were arranged for people to attend dental, opticians and chiropody as needed.

People were encouraged to make healthy choices. The home worked hard to ensure that people made informed decisions about the way they lived their lives and the importance of staying as healthy as possible. A staff member said, “We always offer fruit and yogurts as alternative and healthy options. We will sometimes offer a wrap instead of bread.”

One person used to drink a lot of fizzy drinks. Staff told us that since moving to the service the person had not been consuming as many drinks.

One person had run a half marathon within the last year. Another person walked independently to the local shops most days to make purchases. People enjoyed walks along the seafront and to places of interest and knew that walking and exercise was part of keeping active and healthy.

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.

Staff knew people well and monitored them daily to identify changes in their health and well-being. Where appropriate, people’s weight was checked to identify if there was any unexpected weight loss or gain. Each person had an annual health review and as part of this process a check was made to ensure people had access to any other health provision as needed.

One person had physio exercises and staff told us the person was not always keen to do them. They said, “We try to encourage and reassure that it’s for his benefit. We tell him about the benefits, but we have to respect his wishes.”

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

There was advice and guidance within care plans about how people made choices. During our visits we observed staff asking permission before providing care. Capacity assessments were completed when needed and staff had received training and acted in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. When people lacked the capacity to make decisions staff had followed the principles of the mental capacity act to ensure decisions were made with those closest to them, were the least restrictive and, in their best interest.

Staff told us that they always tried to ensure people were making informed choices. Although people made menu choices in advance if they changed their mind about their chosen menu, they were always able to choose an alternative.

Some cupboards in the kitchen were locked as one person was at risk of choking. Staff were clear that this did not prevent anyone from having food as there was always staff about to provide food as needed.

A best interest meeting had been carried out in relation to one person when they lived at another service as it had been assessed that the placement was no longer appropriate. An advocate had been invited to support the person to help them decide if they wanted to move to Tower Road West or elsewhere. The person already knew people living at the service, so they decided to move in.