St James Court

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 since a change of provider in October 2025. 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.

Prior to people being supported by St James Court, an assessment of need was carried out. Information was gathered by the service about each person.
 

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 were supported to have clinical reviews by external healthcare professionals when needed. For instance, people were referred to district nurses, GPs and mental health teams as examples.

One person’s family had recently been concerned about their relative’s fluid intake. The relative told us “Water intake is paramount anyway, though even more so during a 35degree heatwave. In short, everyday and critical hydration wasn’t being upheld. Since raising our concerns, we have seen an improvement, which we are monitoring.” We found no evidence people were becoming unwell as a result of lack of support with drinks. However, we have spoken with the manager to ensure people are supported with hydration.

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.

Systems were in place for staff to share important information about people with each other and from shift to shift.

Staff told us the team worked together. One member of staff told us, “Staff work well together despite our different cultures, races, genders and ages. I see diversity as a positive because everyone is treated with respect, we support one another, and different backgrounds bring different experiences and ideas that help us provide better care.”
 

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 were encouraged by staff to improve their wellbeing. People were referred to external healthcare professionals when needed. In addition, staff sought support from virtual healthcare services (video appointments with healthcare professionals) to prevent unnecessary admission to hospital.

Staff told us they were aware of how best to support people. Comments included, “I read the handbook, read care plans and daily notes, communicate with colleagues and report and document any changes promptly.”
 

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured outcomes were positive and consistent, and they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

People’s care and support needs were reviewed on a regular basis. We found care plans were written in a way which highlighted outcomes which people wanted to achieve. For instance, how they wished to be supported and by whom.
 

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

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. The MCA requires that, as far as possible, people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. When they lack mental capacity to take particular decisions, any made on their behalf must be in their best interests and as least restrictive as possible.

People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment when this is in their best interests and legally authorised under the MCA. When people receive care and treatment in their own homes an application must be made to the Court of Protection (COP) for them to authorise people to be deprived of their liberty.

At the time of the assessment no one was subject to a COP deprivation. The manager and staff were aware of the code of practice associated with the MCA. Staff had received training and understood their responsibilities. One member of staff told us, “Everyone is assumed to have capacity and allowed to make unwise decisions unless proven otherwise.”