Gravesend Care Services

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.

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 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 did not always make sure people’s care and treatment were effective because they did not always check and discuss people’s health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

People’s needs were assessed prior to them moving into the service. People and their relatives were involved in the decisions around their care.

People’s communication needs were assessed and a care plan implemented where the need was identified. For example, one person’s communication care plan details they would need large print text to be able to see it well.

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. The provider followed the principles of the REACH standards. The REACH standards are a widely recognised set of standards in the UK, to ensure individuals with learning disabilities and autism receive person-centred supported living. The provider ensured that people chose who they wanted their care and support to be from, regardless of their housing arrangements.

People were told about good practice that was relevant to their care. Staff shared information with people around healthy eating to ensure they could make informed choices. One person’s care plan detailed they would like staff to remind them about the implications of a high sugar diet on their oral health and to prompt them to brush their teeth twice a day.

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 received care from a range of different teams and services, and this was coordinated effectively. People received support from services such as district nurses, GP and occupational therapists. Where new advice or equipment was provided from other professionals, all staff were aware to ensure they supported people with the most up to date information. Information was handed over between staff in the form of emails and handover meetings.

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’s care and support was designed around their preferences and what they can do independently. People’s care plans focused on what they can do for themselves, for example one care plan detailed the person could brush their teeth themselves but may need help from staff turning it on.

People were encouraged and supported to make healthier choices. One person had a tailored approach, agreed by them, their relative and staff, where they prepared their snacks for the week and they were supported to have 1 bag a day. The snacks were stored in a different place to help them stop over snacking during the day. This approach was to help the person reach their personal goal of enjoying healthy and balanced meals to improve their health.

The provider had processes in place to routinely monitor people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. When concerns had been raised by staff in relation to a person’s health this was documented. For example, staff detailed in one person’s notes that their physical appearance was different and there was a concern for their health. The manager told us the information was handed over to their next of kin.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. People’s capacity and ability was taken into consideration when discussing planning and reviewing their care. People’s capacity was recorded in their care and support plans and if there was a concern for someone’s change in capacity the relevant teams would be contacted for a review.

Staff ensured people’s consent was given before they carried out any support. For example, we observed staff knocking on people’s front doors and waited for them to answer, rather than walking straight in. People’s care plans also reflected this, care plans detailed that staff must ask people whether they agree, before using a master key to enter their flat.