Rook Lodge

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 because they did not always check and discuss people’s health, care and wellbeing with them.

People's needs were not always fully assessed to ensure their physical, mental health, sensory, and social needs were identified and accurately reflected in their care and support plans. In addition, staff had not always sought sufficient clarification about some individuals’ medical conditions to ensure they had the necessary information to understand and meet their needs effectively.

Care plans were not always reviewed and updated regularly to ensure information remained current and that care, support, and treatment continued to meet people's needs and intended outcomes. As a result, care records did not always accurately reflect people's changing needs, or the support required to meet their individual needs.
 

The provider’s systems did not always ensure that staff were up-to-date with evidence-based good practice and required standards.

However, people's nutrition and hydration needs were met in line with current guidance. Staff supported people to maintain adequate nutrition and hydration by ensuring they had access to sufficient food and drink to reduce the risk of malnutrition and dehydration.

Where individuals required a special diet due to swallowing difficulties, referrals were made to the Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) team to ensure they received appropriate assessment and guidance to support safe eating and drinking.

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. The registered manager told us, "We work with GPs, psychiatrists, care coordinators, the Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) team, physiotherapists, and podiatrists."

Staff reported they had access to the information they needed to deliver people's care and support. A staff member reported, ‘‘We work together as a team making sure the needs of the residents are met while maintaining a friendly environment for everyone in the unit.’’

An external professional involved in supporting service users confirmed that staff followed professional guidance and shared relevant information appropriately. They told us, ‘‘Yes, they have always seemed very helpful.’’

When people received care from a range of different services, it was coordinated effectively. This included appointments and visits with chiropodists and other healthcare professionals to help ensure their needs were met. One person told us, "They helped me get my bus pass, collect my medicines, and attend my doctor's appointments."
 

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.

They encouraged and supported people to make informed choices that promoted their health and wellbeing, including maintaining adequate nutrition and hydration, personal hygiene, and oral health. One person told us, "We have food, and we go shopping. I like chicken Kiev and chips. We have plenty of drinks, including cups of tea, and fruit juice.
 

The provider did not always routinely monitor people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. This meant there was no robust approach for assessing the effectiveness of people’s care, 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 pressure sores to improve outcomes for some individuals.

In addition, monitoring charts and ABC (Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence) records had not always been completed to monitor behaviours that cause distress, identify triggers, and support effective strategies to improve outcomes for these individuals. ABC records are used to understand what happened before a behaviour occurred (antecedent), the behaviour itself, and what happened afterwards (consequence), to help identify patterns and develop appropriate support strategies.

However, care plans contained information about each individual's agreed goals and intended outcomes. They included information and actions to support individuals to maintain and improve their quality of life, promote independence, maintain mobility, and support their health, wellbeing, nutrition, and hydration.
 

The provider did not always tell people about their rights around consent and did not always respect their rights when delivering care and support.

Care plans did not always include signatures from people to evidence consent had been sought before care and support were provided. In addition, review forms did not always include individuals’ signatures to confirm their involvement and agreement with decisions relating to their care and support.

However, people’s mental capacity and ability to consent was taken into account, and they or a person lawfully acting on their behalf were involved in planning and managing their care and treatment.