HF Trust - Phillippines Close

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 71 (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 assessed and reviewed people’s health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them. Staff were knowledgeable about changes in people’s care but these were not always reflected in people’s care records.

People’s health, social and emotional needs were assessed before they moved to the service. This included a compatibility assessment to help ensure there was a suitable match with people already living at the service. People were invited to visit the service and meet staff before deciding if they wanted to make the service their home. Assessments were used to develop each person’s care plan.

Staff were knowledgeable about people’s care and support needs. They were able to describe peoples’ preferred routines, the best ways to communicate with people and how to support people with their physical and emotional well-being.However, one person’s care plan was not clear as it contained a mixture of current and past information about their mobility, eating and health monitoring. This was rectified during the assessment so staff had clear guidance about the person’s current care needs.

People had a person centred plan which set out the most important information staff needed to know about them to be able to support them in the right way. Some people had individual ways of communicating their needs and wants. Communication passports had been developed which guided staff about how people with limited or no verbal communication may present when they were happy, sad or in pain.

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.

The provider used positive behaviour support (PBS) which is a recognised proactive support framework for people who find it difficult to communicate their anxieties. Staff had received training in supporting people to manage their anxieties and promote a positive and safe environment for everyone involved.

People’s needs around their eating and drinking had been assessed and guidance sought from health care professionals. Information about the consistency of people’s food to minimise their risk of choking was located in the kitchen so it was easily accessible to staff. Staff and people ate together at lunchtime and we observed staff supporting people to eat according to this guidance. Comments from relatives included, ”The food is very good quality. It’s cooked from fresh and it always smells delicious” and “He likes his food. They present it nicely, as well."

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

The service worked with a wide range of health and care professionals including doctors, learning disability nurses and speech and language therapists. Where guidance had been provided by these professionals, we saw it had been recorded in people’s care notes and that it was followed by care staff. There was a clear process to escalate health concerns in a timely manner.

Feedback from health care professionals was positive. One health care professional told us, “The residents are cared for very well. They all seem happy and all their needs met."

The provider supported people to manage their health and wellbeing. Staff supported people to live healthier lives.

People had health action plans which set people’s health needs, goals and the support they need to achieve them to live a live a healthy life. Information about people’s medical appointments and checks was easily accessible and monitored to ensure people’s health care goals were met. For people at risk of low weight, a record was made of how much the person ate and their weight was regularly monitored. One person was supported with daily short walks to maintain their health and mobility.

Relatives told us they were kept informed about people’s health care appointments. A relative said, “They always update me. Sometimes staff go with her to the doctors and sometimes I actually take her. They give me notifications of appointments. It’s automatic.”

Relatives were positive about the support staff provided to manage people’s health. One relative told us, “He was diagnosed (with a medical condition) and they’ve changed his diet which has largely been successful. They’ve managed to wean him off caffeine. They’re vigilant with his diet.” The successful management of this condition involves diet and lifestyle changes to help control the symptoms.Another relative said, “They’re trying to keep an eye on his diet. He struggles with the balance."

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.

Care plans were in place which detailed people’s care and support needs, as well as their clinical needs in relation to health conditions.Relatives were positive about how people’s care was monitored. Comments included, “I’m so happy with her there” and “He’s very happy there and so am I.”

People had opportunities to be involved in monitoring their care and treatment at keyworker meetings. A keyworker is a named member of staff who has responsibility for working with certain people, taking responsibility for planning that person’s care and liaising with family members. At these meetings reviews took place of what people had enjoyed doing, progress towards any goals and anything else the person wanted to discuss.

Staff understood the importance of gaining people’s consent and respected this when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

Assessments included specific decisions about whether people could understand, retain and weigh up the information and communicate their decision. To help people understand information this had been presented in a different format, such as photographs. Where people had been assessed as lacking the capacity to make a specific decision, best interest meetings had been held with interested parties. Some people had declined medical checks and medicines. In these circumstances the service had worked closely with families and medical professionals in the best interest of the person within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

Staff had been trained and followed the principles of the MCA in respecting people’s choice to make decisions whilst giving them relevant information and encouragement so they could make a fully informed decision. We observed staff gaining people’s consent before offering any support or assistance such as helping them to mobilise or eat.