Archived: Meadow Bank Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

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 were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

Staff had good knowledge about people’s likes and dislikes and understood how people communicated. Assessments were holistic to capture all aspects of people’s health and wellbeing and written in a person-centred way. The provider established ‘resident of the day’ which were full reviews of every aspect of care and support. Although many people and relatives said they were involved in planning and reviews, some said they did not always feel fully involved in care reviews. People could decorate and personalise their bedrooms and the home was maintained to a high standard, giving a comfortable and homely atmosphere. The provider took steps to make sure people could continue to reside at the service, even when their needs changed or deteriorated. A couple of people told us they had not been able to have a bath and instead received support to have a strip wash. We fed this back to the registered manager who took steps to address this.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

The provider aimed to maintain continuity of care by providing consistent staff teams across the 4 units. Many staff members were long standing within the service which gave consistent and continuous support. The registered manager took action if people’s needs changed and communicated with the local authority if extra support or funding was required. Staff completed training relevant to the role, for example dementia awareness and learning disability awareness.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The provider could share information in several formats such as different languages and fonts. The service had different methods of technology such as iPad and electronic devices to support people to communicate. There were dementia friendly signs and pictures in different areas of the home to help people stay informed. The provider used social media to keep people and relatives up to date about activities and changes in the service.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

The registered manager organised monthly resident and staff meetings to make sure people felt listened to and staff said they felt any issues would be acted upon. Some people told us they joined the meetings, but other people were not aware of them. There was a complaints process however people said they had not needed to raise formal complaints, and that their concerns were listened to and acted upon.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

The building was accessible, and people had the right aids and adaptations to support their mobility needs. People’s rooms were organised in line with dementia friendly guidance. Relatives could visit people at any time, and some relatives chose to support their loved ones at mealtimes. There was a process to provide management support to staff outside of normal working hours, in the event of an emergency.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

The managers and staff understood difficulties or barriers people may face in accessing care and treatment and advocated on their behalf. For example, accessing falls prevention support or hospital treatment. Staff completed relevant training regarding equality and Human Rights, and there were relevant policies to support equality and reduce discrimination.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

We saw evidence that people were supported well at the end of their lives. People’s wishes had been discussed and documented with appropriate and respectful care planning in place. Staff completed end of life training, and the service had links with the local hospice. Staff from the hospice delivered specific training when required. The home was the preferred place for many people.