Collington Park Lodge

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 registered manager made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

People had comprehensive care plans in place, and the registered manager made sure pre- assessment checks were completed prior to people being admitted to the home. Families and next of kin were welcomed to be involved in this information gathering process, and we saw evidence that this always happened. Regular monthly reviews were completed by senior staff or managers, and we saw that when needed the frequency of reviews could be changed in line with changes to a person’s needs. Care plans detailed people’s preferences; for example, “likes the bedroom door left open”, and staff were able to access the care plans on their individual handsets so they could always refer to them for guidance on people’s preferred routines when offering support. Shift handovers gave an opportunity for staff to communicate any changes with needs or routines, and this was done verbally and detailed on the main digital system. Staff could then access and review the previous day’s records to ensure they were fully informed of recent events and any changes to people’s needs.

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 plans identified any specific areas of risk and staff used recognised assessment tools such as MUST, (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool), to help develop people’s care plans and deliver effective care and monitoring. MUST help to identify people who are at risk of becoming malnourished and offers guidelines to support in care planning and actions moving forward. This was reviewed monthly or more frequently when needed.

Specialist dietary needs were catered for with people having a choice at mealtimes and being supported to have a balanced nutritional intake. Softer diets were provided along with low sugar options for those living with Diabetes. Hydration and snacks were provided on a regular basis throughout the day by staff doing tea rounds, and people could help themselves from a bistro area at the main entrance and a bar area on the top floor of the home. This was done safely in line with dietary needs. Alcohol was restricted and monitored by staff, but soft drinks were always available. The chef knew people’s needs well and carried out daily “check ins” with people after meals to gather feedback and ensure the food offered was what people wanted and enjoyed. We observed the care manager also doing this during a lunch service, and people were responsive telling them they had enjoyed that day’s meal and would like it to remain on the menu. People’s weights were monitored monthly and reviewed for any variation which could indicate the need for further investigations or support.

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.

Comprehensive care plans were in place for everyone at the home and these could be easily shared between services. The digital care plan system had access to a hospital passport which could be printed off, detailing all the latest care and communication needs. Communications between services and other healthcare settings were clearly recorded, and staff could access the digital care plan system via individual handsets to make notes for people in their daily records, ensuring any changes and updates to care needs were immediately documented. Tasks were delegated between the care team and staff shared responsibilities within the home. A professional told us, “In an emergency I have liaised with the GP’s and the care team to organise the appropriate antibiotic prescription.”

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.

Those living at the home were supported to continue regular routine health checks such as dental appointments and eye tests and could be accompanied by staff if they were not confident, or unable, to attend appointments on their own.

People’s weights were regularly checked and recorded, with any identified concerns being acted upon and specialist dietary advice could be accessed if required. The Speech and Language Therapists, (SALT), were involved in supporting some people who had communication or swallowing difficulties, and we saw that the guidance that they had left for people was being followed correctly by the care team.

The registered manager 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 teams worked to continually check and assist people as needed. Care plans detailed any equipment used by people to help keep them safe, such as walking aids, or raised toilet seats in their bathroom, and these were regularly reviewed with any changes to requirements being noted. Body maps were used to record and document where people needed body creams applied and any specific directions such as the length of time for use was noted on medicines records. Clinical support was sought where needed and we saw evidence that people with poor skin integrity who were at risk of pressure related damage were supported by the District Nursing team. They were provided with air mattresses which adjusted automatically to any changes in weight so maintaining a constant support at the optimum level to promote healing and minimize further harm. The staff liaised with the Community Bladder and Bowel Service who supported people at the home, assessing and providing continence aids, and making individual recommendations which included monitoring of fluids, and dietary changes to promote continence care and management.

Staff worked to achieve good outcomes for people, and understood the importance of liaising with healthcare professionals to update information and document people’s progress, for example a professional told us, “I always have a staff contact to hand over, they have the time to do that, those points really stand out about here.” Regular “10 at 10” meetings each day involved all staff on duty and gave opportunity to highlight any immediate concerns anyone may have with that day’s routine or care. Staff accessed monitoring equipment for emergency checks such as blood sugar monitors for checking sugar levels for people who lived with diabetes if they ever felt unwell.

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

Staff understood the importance of gaining consent prior to assisting people and we heard positive conversations between staff and those they were caring for, waiting for responses from people before they acted to support them. Information was detailed in care plans that indicated if there were times that communication may be affected by other conditions, noting that some people may prefer to communicate by nodding their head rather than verbally.

Signed consent forms were in place for care and treatment, sharing of information, photo and social media use. Not everyone living at the home was able to retain enough information to make informed decisions so where appropriate, best interest meetings had been held to support care and enable provision of treatment in the most beneficial way to the person. We saw evidence of relatives that had legal authority to make decisions on someone’s behalf, being involved in those meetings and decisions. These decisions were recorded as required in people’s care plans