Northfield House

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 service 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 79 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. People and their relatives told us they felt the service listened to them and responded to any concerns they had. Staff knew what incidents to report and how to report them. The service investigated incidents thoroughly and shared outcomes with people, relatives and professionals. We saw evidence of change as a result of incidents which had occurred. The registered manager told us they received safety alerts from the government, local authority and CQC which informed them of upcoming risks along with themes and trends to ensure the provider could take appropriate action to mitigate these risks.

The service understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity. People received care and support which was co-ordinated and worked in their best interests. People’s care needs were assessed to ensure staff were available to provide support at an agreed time. The registered manager told us, “People’s hearing tests and chiropody are carried out by professionals who people are familiar with. At the GP surgery we have 2 GP’s we use who know people well. We pride ourselves on not using agency staff, so staff support is always consistent.”

The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. People’s communication needs and preferences were clearly recorded in care plans.A staff member told us, “People have access to Easy Read documents and visual aids, which help ensure understanding. We use these resources when discussing care plans or to help with making decisions to promote informed choices.” The provider had robust policies in place to ensure information could be shared in different formats, should this be required.

The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment, and support. They involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result. We reviewed the providers complaints log. A person had made a complaint about food, the provider took appropriate action, resolved the issue and fed this back to the person. A relative told us, “If I had a complaint, I would ring head office or talk to the manager. The manager is so caring, they really care about the people who live in the home. They ring me up to tell me positive things as well.” Another relative told us, “I am shown my relatives care plan at their 6 monthly review and any updates are discussed at that time. For example, my relative wasn't enjoying their day service, so an alternative was discussed, and plans were put in place for my relative to visit a new service which they now regularly access.” The registered manager told us, where needed they engaged the use of advocacy services to ensure people were heard.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support, and treatment they needed when they needed it. Staff understood the needs of autistic people and people with a learning disability and worked hard to ensure that typical barriers faced by people were removed or mitigated against. Each person had an up to date hospital passport in place. This could be shared with other professionals and reduce potential barriers to care within the health and social care system.

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. Staff treated people as individuals and made reasonable adjustments for anyone who needed them. Staff understood how the Equality Act (2010) applied to their role. The registered manager provided us with an example where a person had been supported to attend a routine check-up and the professional at the appointment did not have time to spend with the person to help alleviate their anxieties. With the agreement of the person, the registered manager raised a complaint on their behalf and sourced an alternative professional to ensure that future check-ups would be a positive experience for the person.

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. Staff treated people as individuals and made reasonable adjustments for anyone who needed them. Staff understood how the Equality Act (2010) applied to their role. The registered manager provided us with an example where a person had been supported to attend a routine check-up and the professional at the appointment did not have time to spend with the person to help alleviate their anxieties. With the agreement of the person, the registered manager raised a complaint on their behalf and sourced an alternative professional to ensure that future check-ups would be a positive experience for the person.