Brighton Road

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 inspection we rated this key question Good. At this inspection 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 was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service. These initial assessments considered and recorded the support people required from the service for example with medicines, communication, personal care, diet, medicines, daily living skills and environmental requirements. Information from the assessment was used to draw-up care plans and risk assessments. People using the service, their relatives and health and social care professionals contributed to these assessments to ensure the person’s individual needs were considered and addressed. We saw people’s care plans and risk assessments were kept under regular review.

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.

People's nutritional needs preferences were met, where people required support with eating and drink this was recorded in their care records. People told us they went shopping for the things they liked to eat.

The registered manager told us people discussed what meals they would like to eat during residents’ meetings, and they went shopping with staff to purchase food items for the menu. They showed us weekly menu’s, the main meal was prepared by people using the service and staff in the evenings, these were well balanced with plenty of vegetables. We observed people preparing sandwiches and soup for themselves at lunch time supervised by staff. Some people sat around the table in the dining area and some people ate while watching television in the lounge. One person told us, “We have breakfast choices.” Another person said, “I usually like the food, if l don’t like what they cook l get something else.” During one of our visits people told us they were looking forwards to takeaway pizza for supper that evening.

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. People had access to a range of health and social care professionals.

People told us they had access to health care professional when they needed them. One person said, “When I need medical help, I just ask the staff.” Another person told us, “I get the care, support and treatment that I need and want.” A staff member told us people were supported where needed to attend appointments with a GP, dentists, opticians, and epilepsy, dementia and diabetic nurses.

Staff told us they also accessed Immedicare if they noticed someone was unwell. Immedicare is an NHS service supporting the care home workforce 24 hours a day. They help to improve the quality of care for residents by reducing the need for referrals to other healthcare professionals, ambulance conveyance and hospital admissions. A professional told us the manager and staff accessed their service when they required it. They said the registered manager had reported back to them that they are happy with the service and appreciated the support they provided.

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 encouraged to maintain a healthy balanced diet. People’s care records included assessments of their dietary requirements, food likes and dislikes and any support they required with eating and drinking.

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.

The registered manager told us they worked closely with external professionals such as psychologists, the Community Learning Disability Teams (CLDT) Community Mental Health Teams (CMHT), Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) teams. They said they were always open to feedback and continuously sought advice to ensure their communication methods remained effective and person-centred.

A health care professional told us, whenever a person from the service is admitted to the hospital, the manager would provide them with good information about the person’s needs. The manager had supplied staff cover particularly during mealtimes which helped the hospital team. The manager would visit the person daily and even after she has finished her working day. They told us the manager had been very proactive and always puts the person first.

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

People's capacity to make decisions was assessed and retained with their care records. Where people lacked the mental capacity to make decisions, the provider met with relatives where appropriate to ensure any decisions made, were in the person’s best interests. Staff promoted people's rights and worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). The MCA provides a legal framework for making decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. The Act requires that, as far as possible, people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. The provider had requested legal authorisations where restrictions were in place. Decisions around these were made in people’s best interests and for their safety. A health care professional told us the service had provided support for people at best interest’s meetings, and the manager was always available for these appointments.