Akos Care Limited

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 registered service. This key question has been rated required improvement. This meant the effectiveness of people’s care, treatment and support did not always achieve good outcomes or was inconsistent.

This service scored 58 (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. People’s needs are assessed and included consideration of their physical, mental health, sensory, social and communication needs. We found that care plans were not regularly reviewed and updated to ensure the information remained current and that care, support and treatment continued to meet people’s needs and intended outcomes. Staff did not always maintain clear and comprehensive care records to support reviews. For example, we observed a care plan had not been updated in a timely manner to reflect a new health diagnosis for the person using the service.
However, where appropriate families and professionals were meaningfully involved in the assessment of people’s needs. The assessment informed the care plan. When people using the service required behaviour support plans to help manage and improve their behaviour, these were in place. This ensured that staff had the necessary guidance to promote positive behaviour and respond appropriately to any challenges.
 

The service had not always used up-to-date approaches to support people’s health, conditions, or behaviour. For example, there was no documented evidence of repositioning charts for people at risk of pressure sores. A repositioning chart is used to record when and how often a person’s position is changed to prevent pressure-related injuries. However, staff supported people to manage their dietary needs, and people told us they received sufficient food and drink to prevent malnutrition or dehydration.

The provider made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services. Staff reported they had access to the information they needed to deliver people’s care and support. A professional who worked with the service told us that staff followed their guidance and shared information with them when requested.

The provider did not always support people to manage their health and wellbeing in a timely manner, so people could not always maximise their independence, choice and control. However, people confirmed that they had been encouraged and supported to understand and make healthier choices, including in relation to their diet, lifestyle, personal care, and oral hygiene. In addition, staff told us they had collected people’s medicines to ensure they were available when needed and to support people who were unable to collect their medicines.

The provider did not always routinely monitor people’s care and support to continuously improve it. This meant there was no robust approach for assessing the effectiveness of people’s care, treatment, support and appropriate actions were not always taken to improve outcomes. For example, staff had not put monitoring measures in place to identify known or emerging needs related to wound care complications or pressure sores, address concerns, or take action to improve outcomes for these individuals.

Consent was not always sought appropriately by staff before delivering care and support. Care plans did not always include signatures from people to evidence that consent had been sought before care and support were provided. In addition, staff had not received training in mental capacity to ensure they fully understood how to obtain consent appropriately and how to support individuals who may lack capacity.
However, people's capacity and ability to consent was taken into account, and they, or a person lawfully acting on their behalf, are involved in planning and managing their care and treatment. Information about people’s Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) status was clearly shared with staff and recorded in care plans.