Personal Touch Care Services Ltd

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.

People’s needs were assessed before they started to use the service. These were undertaken by the registered manager. This included the office team meeting the person, their relatives and assessing the environment in which care would be given. A relative told us, “We were involved in the first assessment before care had started and it went well.” The registered manager explained the pre assessment process which included liaising with other professionals. People’s care plans were tailored to the persons needs and what was important to them. Audits showed a robust review process was in place to ensure people’s needs were up to date and appropriate for them.

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 and their relatives told us they were involved in decision making and their views were evident throughout their care documentation. Care plans were person centred and included nutrition and hydration needs. Staff used assessment tools to ensure people’s needs were identified and safely met. For example, the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool ( MUST) was used to assess people’s likelihood of malnutrition and information was clearly stated in people’s care plans for staff to follow if people were at risk. A staff member said, “We monitor people for risks such as poor nutrition, dehydration, and skin damage and report any concerns.” Policies were in line with national good practice guidelines and staff knew people well.

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.

Staff spoke highly about working together to ensure people’s needs were met. A staff member said, “Communication with healthcare professionals is positive and supports good outcomes for clients.” Communication within the staff team is very effective and helps ensure continuity of care. External health and social care services spoke highly of their working relationship with the provider. A professional told us, “Personal Touch Care Services were flexible in their approach, they worked hard to maintain [person’s] wellbeing and meet their assessed care needs.” The registered manager echoed this and explained how they the service would work with external agencies, such as district nurses and GP services to ensure the safety of people.

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.

People had choice and control over their daily lives which promoted their independence. A person said, “They are very, very caring, they have got to know me quite well, they do everything they possibly can to make her life as good as it can be.” Care plans were detailed to effectively support peoples’ health, care and wellbeing. A staff member said, “We encourage people to remain as independent as possible and report any health concerns promptly.” The registered manager spoke about supporting people with Dementia and the importance of continuity for people to live healthier lives.

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.

People’s care plans detailed their care needs, including specific health or dietary conditions, preferences about their support and how staff ensured these were met. People had routine health checks, including medication reviews. The provider worked closely with GPs when monitoring conditions. The service demonstrated they were reactive to concerns with one incident where a person had fallen outside of their property. The provider allocated 2 carers to support the person while they waited for an ambulance. A relative of the person spoke about how they had been let down by other services in the past but Personal Touch Care Services had covered that shortfall and they were grateful for this and stated, “I cannot fault them at all.” The registered manager spoke of the importance of regular reviews of people’s care to lower the risk of potential incidents in the future.

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

People were asked for consent in pre-assessment by the registered manager, and this was documented in their care plans. Care plans evidenced people’s preferences, for example whether they preferred female or male staff for personal care. The registered manager spoke of the importance of consent and staff were up to date with training. Staff had knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and understood the importance of gaining consent prior to supporting people. A staff member said, “I understand the Mental Capacity Act and support people to make their own decisions whenever possible.”