Springfield Care Home

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 under the new provider. 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.

The registered manager explained how they had reviewed all people’s care plans and risk assessments, in order to gain a current view of need. These plans were in the process of being uploaded to the electronic care planning system which the provider had implemented. Where previously, people and their relatives had not been engaged in planning their care, we found the registered manager was working hard to rebuild relationships with people and their relatives to ensure they were involved in care planning.

People and their relatives were confident that their or their family members’ needs were understood by the staff team. One relative told us, “Yes, it is a safe place. My family member is safe and well looked after. They’re happy.” We saw from interactions between people and staff, that people were understood and respected as individuals. For example, one person found comfort and pleasure in looking after their dolls [babies], which we saw was fully supported by the staff team.

Staff told us they had time to read care planning documents, so they could keep up to date with people’s changing needs. Staff we spoke with showed a good knowledge and understanding of how to support people’s needs, and what action to take if the person’s needs appeared to have changed.

Where people’s needs changed, care planning documents were updated so staff understood any new guidance. For example, where a person’s mobility had reduced, a referral was made to an external health team for occupational therapy input for equipment to support their needs. We saw the guidance from the health professional was incorporated into an updated care plan and risk assessment.

People’s communication needs were recorded and understood by staff. This allowed staff to communicate with people, to have a clear understanding of the person’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.

A range of national assessment tools were used, to understand people’s needs and how best to support them. For example, the malnutrition universal screening tool (MUST) was used for the management of weight loss and nutritional intake.

Staff kept records on how they had supported people and at what time. There was consistency in these daily records for food and nutrition, oral care and personal care. The registered manager regularly audited planned care records, to identify and address any concerns or shortfalls. For example, where a person’s skin management needs may require review by an external health care team.

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 had clear pre-admission documents in place, detailing their individual needs. The management team assessed their capacity to support people based on the overall dependency needs of the service. The service had a positive relationship with their covering GP practice, who visited regularly to carry out reviews of medicines or any changes in clinical conditions.

The management team worked well with external health and social care partners and implemented guidance from these teams to support people effectively. Staff felt confident in their positive relationships with external partners.

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.

The provider planned to change the upper floor of the service to the provision of nursing beds. This would then allow people who live at the service, to remain there, should their needs change in future. The registered manager spoke of their passion of ensuring people and their relatives were fully supported during this transition.

People were supported to attend external appointments, for example to the dentist. One relative told us, “My family member fortunately has had no medical issues except when they broke a tooth recently and the home informed us promptly, and arranged a dental appointment which had it fixed in 2 days.”

Staff were competent in responding to falls experienced by people. Records showed staff members acted robustly following falls incidents at the service, by increasing their observations for 48 hours. Referrals were made to external teams to help mitigate risks effectively. For example, people who had experienced falls and injuries had been referred to professionals for specialist input to help mitigate this risk. Where referrals had been made, the guidance from these teams had been included within people’s care plans. This ensured people received safe and effective support.

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 needs were robustly assessed, so their care and support could be delivered in line with current standards. This supported people to achieve effective outcomes. Care plans had clear guidance for staff to follow, to ensure people received their planned care and support during the day and at night. Relatives told us they were kept fully informed and given reassurance if their family members were unwell or emergency healthcare was sought for them. One relative told us, “We are kept well informed of anything happening to my family member.”

People were supported to maintain good nutritional intake and hydration levels. The service had an experienced cook, who understood where people had been prescribed a specific diet to support with a clinical condition. People and their relatives were positive about the dietary support offered at Springfield Care Home. One person said, “The food is beautiful and the cook will make a special meal for me if I wish it.” A relative told us, “The food has improved. My family member eats well.” We observed people and staff during the lunchtime meal and staff were attentive and supportive where people required this.

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

People we spoke with all told us staff asked for their consent before delivering personal care. All people and relatives spoke positively about the staff team being respectful and considerate towards them.

We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act, (MCA), whether appropriate legal authorisations were in place when needed to deprive a person of their liberty, and whether any conditions relating to those authorisations were being met. We found the service was working within the principles of the MCA and if needed, appropriate legal authorisations were in place to deprive a person of their liberty. The service had an organised ‘tracker’ in place to ensure people who had restrictions imposed were reviewed regularly to ensure these remained appropriate. Staff we spoke with understood their responsibility to respect people’s wishes and feelings. Where people did not have family members to support them with decision making, we saw the service had engaged independent advocates. This ensured people’s views were respected.