SeeAbility Buckinghamshire Support Service

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 made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

People’s preferences were recorded and, where possible, taken into account. People had their needs assessed prior to moving into the supported living accommodation. People were also supported by a housing officer who visited them to ensure their housing needs were met.

Care plans reflected a good understanding of people’s needs, including relevant assessments of people’s communication support and sensory needs.

People had care and support plans that were personalised, holistic, strengths-based and reflected their needs and aspirations, including their physical and mental health needs. People, including people important to them and staff, reviewed plans regularly together.

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.

Staff used nationally recognised tools to assess people’s needs. Where people were at risk of choking or had modified diets, staff had guidance on how to support them. This was stored in a “mealtime mat” document.

People were involved in choosing their food, shopping, and planning their meals. Staff supported people to make healthier choices for food. People’s preferences for food and drinks were clearly documented. One person who had experienced significant weight loss due to complex health needs had been closely supported by staff to put on weight. The person now had a healthy weight and appeared more content in themselves.

People’s care met the expectations outlined in the ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidelines in relation to supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people. People had individual care plans tailored to their needs and they had access to the local community.

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.

Meetings were held every day between staff and senior leadership to share important information about people, and these were documented thoroughly.

Staff spoke about how they worked together to build respectful, supportive relationships with the people they cared for. They said they had access to personal histories, preferences and goals, which helped them to provide more personalised care.

Staff described a culture of dignity, inclusion and mutual respect. Staff said they were appreciated and supported by both colleagues and managers.

We received positive feedback from external healthcare professionals. Comments included, “My team and I have been invited to deliver specialist training for the team on numerous occasions over the years to help with upskilling when there has been significant turnover of staff, and we have observed the Waterside (SeeAbility Buckinghamshire Support Services) team put the learning and advice into practice with our clients”. Another community professional told us “They [staff] have provided us with up-to-date information about people when they are coming into hospital such as hospital passports and grab sheets.”

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 to be healthy. Where concerns about people’s health was identified, staff supported people to be referred to appropriated services. In addition, where possible, people were encouraged to make contact with external healthcare professionals themselves. For instance, one person had been supported to call the community occupational therapy department due to concerns about a piece of equipment.

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

Individualised goals or outcomes were not always present in people’s care plans. However, actions were set in keyworker meetings to ensure people always had activities to access in the local community, or support to attend medical appointments.

We found reviews were carried out to ensure the level of support was meeting people’s needs. The registered manager was able to demonstrate how they worked with external professionals to highlight changes in people’s needs.

People told us they were involved in decisions about their care. Comments included, “Definitely involved” and “I attend meetings”.

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

Staff understood the principles of gaining valid consent and how it applied in day-to-day practice. They told us gaining consent from people before providing care and support was embedded within their working practices. One staff member told us, “Our training is tailored to the service”. Other staff spoke positively about recent training they had received about people living with a brain injury and the importance of understanding how this could affect informed consent.

Staff told us they had received training about the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and we observed staff supporting people to make decisions about what they wanted to do. Staff demonstrated best practice around assessing mental capacity, supporting decision-making and best interest decision-making. One member of staff told us “For example we have residents who cannot make a decision for themselves for all such as food, what food, what drink, what shopping they need or want, so to put my training into practice I still give options for food and drink”.