Mulberry Court Care Home

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• 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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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 people’s health, care, wellbeing and communication needs.

A relative said, “I did all the paperwork here when [family member] transferred here from the last place. They were good at listening when I gave them [family member’s] life story.”

People’s needs were assessed and reviewed regularly. Clinical assessment tools were used to support the assessment of needs and review including pressure care. Care plans contained detailed information on clinical needs including diabetes and skin care. Additional information was added to care plans to provide guidance where someone’s ethnicity may make the identification of skin damage more challenging for staff.

Additional documentation was in place to highlight to staff any specific risks to be aware of including nutrition and hydration and skin damage.

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 and treatment reflected current best practice and guidance which included how to meet people’s diverse needs regarding nutrition and beliefs. Staff completed training to support this. The provider used recognised best practice assessment tools including assessments of an individual's risk of developing pressure ulcers. People received support to ensure the risk of skin damage was minimised and wounds healed.

We observed lunchtime on the first day of our assessment. People received assistance where they required it, adapted cutlery was used and portion sizes were good.

One relative felt that portion sizes were small and that their family member was losing weight. However, other relatives were positive. A relative said, “The food looks good and [family member has] put weight on here.” Weights were monitored and action taken when required. Food and fluids were monitored, and we saw people received food in line with cultural needs.

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people. Staff worked collaboratively to deliver effective care.

Staff were confident to refer to other organisations. People received effective monitoring of their health and where concerns were observed, appropriate referrals to healthcare partners were made in a timely way which included any skin issues and any recommendations were followed.

A professional commented, ‘They listen to our advice, support our recommendations, and make frequent referrals to our service.’ Another professional commented, ‘No issues regarding communication both via the phone and emails. I get all my responses from them and they are good at passing on messages to the appropriate individual. Communication is clear and direct.’

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. External health and social care professionals were involved as required. Staff completed training to support people to manage their health and wellbeing including nutrition and hydration and diabetes awareness.

However, a relative said that they had asked for a dentist to visit as their family member had tooth pain. No dental visit had occurred. The registered manager confirmed that dental care had been difficult to arrange but a dentist had now started to visit the home and visits were being prioritised based on a person’s clinical need.

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it.

Outcomes were monitored and used to drive improvement. Monitoring tools were used to identify and then monitor any emerging healthcare needs and external professionals were involved in helping to address these needs, for example, people experiencing weight loss.

A professional commented, ‘The staff have always responded in a timely manner with any suggestions or guidance I have made and if not working, further conversations have been had.’

People’s consent was sought and respected. Policies were in place and mental capacity was considered where appropriate.

A relative said, “[My family member] looks better, they let [them] walk around. They seem to understand [family member] needs to be able to wander at will.”

People’s consent was sought and respected, however we saw that most people were wearing clothing protectors at mealtimes, and they had not been asked whether they wanted this.

Policies were in place and mental capacity was considered where appropriate. Advanced decisions were clearly documented in care records.

Staff demonstrated an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act. Staff had completed training on consent and the Mental Capacity Act.