Acorn Care Home

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 67 (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 care plans guided staff to support people in line with their preferences. Some updating of records was taking place during our inspection.

Relatives told us their family members had settled well at the service. One relative told us, “(Person’s name) their transition was faultless, and staff are amazing.” They told us staff visited the previous service to understand their loved one’s needs prior to the transition, to ensure the service could meet their needs in a person-centred way. Another relative said, “Staff have helped (person’s name) foster friendships and found useful activities for them to do that are person-centred.”

Relatives told us they had noticed an improvement in their loved one’s appearance since being at the service. One relative told us, “This service has a very good understanding of the specific needs to be met.”

Staff had undertaken training about caring for people with dementia. They had regular meetings and updates from the management team to understand about best practice. Relatives told us staff understood the needs of their loved ones very well.

Training records showed staff completed a range of training specific to the needs of the people they supported, although some updates were needed and also training in relation to rescue medicines had not been provided.

Most people gave positive feedback about the food at the service. One person told us, “We do have choice of meals. I have enough to eat and drink.” Another person told us, “I have enough to eat and drink and I have my snacks.”

Meals were presented well, and staff were on hand to support people in an organised way. There was enough staff to provide support to people. Staff asked people before providing assistance with their food and also empowered people to eat independently.

The management team told us they had made lots of improvements to the mealtime experience. Mealtimes were now a protected time so staff could give their time and full attention to support people. They had also introduced staggered mealtime to improve the experience for people and to ensure there was enough staff members to support people. Staff were aware of people’s dietary requirements.

Most people we spoke with told us they received good care and support. Some people told us they would like more opportunities to engage in activities that were of interest to them.

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.

Relatives told us communication with staff and the management team was very good. A relative told us, “I am fully involved in (person’s name) care and I am kept up to date with any changes.”

Staff were positive about their working relationships both internally and externally.

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 supported to remain active and were able to join in activities within the home and the local community. People told us about going out for a walk, visits to local parks and staff told us some people attended a local gym.

Staff shared examples of how they worked with other health and social care professionals to support people’s health and appropriate referrals were made, for example to the speech and language therapy service.

Relatives told us they were kept well informed about their family members’ care needs and any changes.

A visiting healthcare professional told us staff were helpful and provided detailed information to them when they were visiting a person. They told us, “Staff do very well to support people; however, sometimes they are very busy so things may take a while.”

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment and had some systems in place to do this. However, some care plans lacked guidance for staff, regarding specific healthcare needs associated with their care, for example, epilepsy management.

Staff and leaders were able to explain how they supported people in their daily lives to maintain their health. Staff confirmed they accessed health professionals to ensure any treatment people required was provided.

The management team met with people and their relatives and telephoned them for feedback about the service and to make sure care plans were relevant and being followed. Relatives we spoke with confirmed this and spoke highly about their family member’s care.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. The service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). Appropriate legal authorisations were in place to deprive people of their liberty where this was deemed necessary to ensure their safety. Staff understood people’s capacity to make decisions about their care and support.