Homecare For You Solihull

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 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 71 (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.

People’s care plans were developed from an assessment of people’s needs. Care plans were regularly reviewed to ensure they reflected any changes in people’s needs or preferences. Relatives told us they were involved in people’s care planning. One relative told us, “I was involved with setting up [the person’s] care plan and it is reviewed every quarter at the house.”

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.

Care records showed clinical tools were used to assess people’s needs and levels of risk to help improve people’s outcomes. For example, a Waterlow assessment had been completed to determine people’s risk of skin damage to pressure areas. Staff received clear instructions to support them with tasks such as catheter care.

People were also supported to access appointments. One relative told us, “They are very pro-active about taking [the person] to appointments such as the dentist or the opticians.”

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 and relatives told us they could easily get in contact with someone from the office. Comments included, “Management are always very easy to get hold of, and they always respond quickly,” and “I can also WhatsApp them and they do normally respond quickly.”

Other professionals were complimentary about the support provided. One professional shared feedback from a person’s tenancy provider which expressed how the person ‘had turned a corner’ due to the support from Homecare for You Solihull.

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 need for care and support.

Staff had the information they needed to support people to live healthier lives. Care records included information about people’s health conditionsand how to escalate any concerns should they need to do so.

The management team gave an example of how by working alongside physios, they had been able to support someone to improve their mobility and therefore reduce their care package. A relative also told us care staff supported their loved one to do exercises.

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.

One relative told us, “There are loads of positive outcomes. For example, [the person] takes their meds regularly now, so their health has improved and they are so much better. [The person] is cleaner now as they have regular showers… [the staff] are really keeping an eye on [the person]”.

Records showed care staff monitored people’s skin integrity and escalated any concerns.

The provider did not always tell people about their rights around consent and did not always respect their rights when delivering care and treatment.

Whilst people’s capacity to make their own decisions had been considered, capacity assessments reviewed, contained little to no detail about how individuals were supported to understand the decision in question. Capacity assessments must be decision-specific to ensure they accurately reflect the person’s ability to understand, weigh, and make that decision at that time. We found the assessments were generic and assessed more than 1 decision at the same time.

One person’s care record’s contained conflicting information regarding their capacity to make decisions, meaning there was a risk they would not receive support that reflected their rights or preferences.

However, people’s daily notes confirmed staff asked for consent and staff demonstrated an understanding of its importance. One staff member told us, “I always ask before giving care.”

The management team acknowledged our feedback and assured us that it would be addressed. They also explained that they would be attending training on this topic to strengthen their understanding, and a staff member would be appointed as a ‘mental capacity champion’ to help drive and sustain improvements.