Surrey Hills Home Help Services 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.

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 were effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

The management team completed an assessment of need before delivering care to people. This included areas such as people’s mobility, continence, and skin integrity needs. This information was then used to formulate the person’s final care plan. Care plans were reviewed every 6 months or when there was a change in need. This was confirmed by staff, with one member of staff telling us, “I usually see that care plans are reviewed every 3 to 6 months but if a client needs a change, we update them sooner. Also, if I noticed that a client is struggling or needing extra support, I will let my supervisor know that the care plan can be adjusted. This process is usually followed through, and the changes are added almost immediately so I can continue giving the right care.”

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.

In addition to people’s care plans, the provider had created an oral and skin integrity risk assessment, which used nationally recognised tools and scales such as the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST). This determined if people were at high risk of health deterioration due to factors such as malnutrition and poor skin integrity and allowed staff to put in preventative measures. Staff were confident in using this and identifying if any changes in a person’s needs required an updated oral and skin integrity risk assessment to be completed.

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people.

Staff communicated important information about people’s needs and health through an electronic messaging system. This system was monitored by the management team to ensure it was consistently professional. Staff were also able to contact the main office to pass on important information directly to the management team so this could be escalated if needed.

Concerns about people were escalated in a timely manner to health and social care professionals. This ensured people received a multiagency approach to their care to promote good outcomes. This included input from services such as occupational therapists and physiotherapists. Guidance given by health and social care professionals was followed by staff members. For example, one person had been given exercises to complete by a physiotherapist to improve their mobility. Staff supported the person to complete these daily.

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.

Staff encouraged people to eat a varied and healthy diet and maintain adequate hydration levels. For example, staff left people with a drink beside them when finishing a care visit so that they could continue to hydrate until their next care visit. Maintaining a good level of hydration helps prevent a decline in health, such as urinary infections. A staff member told us, “I help people live a healthy life by encouraging them to have good meals, regular activity, making sure they take their medication on time and keeping up with appointments. I also try and give advice and support to help them make healthier choices.”

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.

Staff carried out routine health checks on people to monitor their overall well-being. This included carrying out blood pressure checks or weighing people on a regular basis. When people had lost a significant amount of weight, referrals were made to the GP so the underlying cause could be investigated.

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

Staff were aware of the importance of gaining consent from people before delivering care. One staff member told us, “I do this by clearly explaining what care I will provide and why and check that that person understands and then asking if they agree I always respect their choices and only carry out care once they have given their permission.”

Mental capacity assessments were completed to determine if a person lacked the capacity to make specific decisions about their care. If it was confirmed the person lacked capacity, a best interests decision was completed by staff. This ensured that health and social care professionals and relatives involved in people’s care were involved in deciding the least restrictive option when supporting a person.