EVHM LLP - 6 High Beech Close

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 79 (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.

Most people had lived at the service over 20 years. When people’s needs changed a full assessment was carried out to ensure staff could continue to meet them. 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, “[Person] has been there a long time, it’s reassuring for all the family, [Person] gets on well with her peers and all the staff team.” Another relative told us, “As a service, it is fantastic and I have peace of mind. [Person’s] quality of life would have suffered as I got older, I’m so glad we did the placement.”

The registered manager talked through their assessment procedure, and this was based on the individual needs of the person. The registered manager undertook assessments to ensure people were happy living with each other and the service.

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.

Some people had experienced health changes and they, and their relatives, had been involved in decisions regarding treatment plans. Staff told us they worked with health and social care professionals to ensure referrals were made and any recommendations were acted upon. A visiting professional told us, “Over the years I have made recommendations regarding the wellbeing of residents, which is always listened to and promptly acted upon.” Another professional told us, “The staff team are skilled in following guidelines and recommendations.”

Where people were at risk of choking, advice had been sought from the speech and language therapy team and there were guidelines for staff to follow to support people safely with their eating and drinking. People’s care records stated their nutritional needs, dietary requirements, likes, dislikes and 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. One relative said, “It’s not been an easy year for [Person]. Staff have done a super job, and they have kept in touch with us throughout.”

Staff gave us examples of how they worked effectively with a range of health and social care professionals to ensure people received coordinated and timely support. These included people’s GPs, speech and language therapists, learning disability nurses and hospital staff.

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 registered manager told us that some of the people were struggling to cope with age related health issues and the impact this had on their bodies. The registered manager contacted the local learning disability team and was advised about a health and wellbeing course to support people with ageing. Everyone at the service was offered the opportunity to attend the course which was run over a number of weeks. Two people decided to take up the opportunity. One person showed us their folder demonstrating all the areas they had discussed at the course. They were able to tell us how important it had been for them to speak with someone external to the service about personal health issues. They had learned the importance of eating and sleeping well and how exercise had a positive impact on their health. They felt the course had been a really good experience. The registered manager told us the course had opened up a lot of emotion for people. Staff worked closely with the organisers to make sure they could support people with any questions they had outside of the course times. One person told us, “I can speak with [registered manager] if I need to, she understands what I am going through.”

People were strongly encouraged to be as healthy as possible. The service 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. Staff were empathetic towards people and understood the challenges this raised. One person had a condition that meant exercise was difficult. However, it was noted that with gentle persuasion they had been encouraged to walk more and this had made a positive difference to them. Another person knew that too many fizzy drinks had a negative effect on their health. Staff supported the person to reduce the number of fizzy drinks consumed, there were clearly defined joint agreements about when this could be relaxed.

Staff supported people to stay in control of things that mattered to them. One person had a medical condition, and they did not want to tell their peers. Staff respected this decision and there was no pressure put upon them. When the person was ready, they told everyone using their own words and in a way that made sense to everyone.

A healthcare professional told us, “6 High Beech Close seek to ensure they have all the required information and are happy to seek further advise or assistance in order to develop guidelines and ensure continuity of care.” Another told us, Over the years I have made recommendations regarding the wellbeing of residents, which is always listened to and promptly acted upon.”

These collaborative approaches helped ensure the person’s health and wellbeing needs were met through consistent practice and shared understanding across both services.

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. Staff had identified subtle changes in one person and made a GP appointment. This led to further investigations and timely treatment that improved the person’s health outcomes. The same person was also prone to a particular condition that affected their mental health. It was noted that following an agreed protocol between medical staff and the home, a timely intervention was made when needed and this has supported the person to live a healthier life.

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 they had access to any other health provision as needed.

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

Staff understood the importance of gaining people’s consent before completing any personal support intervention. We observed a staff member asking for consent to support a person with their shower, but the person told the staff member, “I’m having a natter, I’ll have it later.” The staff member accepted this response and gave them time to continue their conversation.

To enable people to make informed decisions, where possible, staff used easy read literature or social stories to support decision making. These are ways to communicate using pictures to aid understanding. This had successfully been used to support people’s understanding of recent medical conditions.

When people lacked the capacity to make decisions staff had followed the principles of the mental capacity act to ensure decisions were made with appropriate representation, were the least restrictive and in their best interest. Sometimes people’s ability to consent to care fluctuated and staff were acutely aware that they needed to be flexible in their approach. People’s care plans clearly guided staff in how best to support people.

Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and worked in the least restrictive way, acting in people’s best interests when required. They applied the principles of the MCA, which provides the legal framework for making decisions on behalf of people who may lack capacity.