Outreach Services

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 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 provider was exceptional at making 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 worked alongside family, professionals, advocates when making decisions about people’s care and ensured people’s views were known, respected and acted on, even when this meant challenging views which may not be in the person’s best interests. The provider ensured people’s best interests, rights and wishes were advocated appropriately and at the core of any action taken. Care planning was focused on the person’s whole life, including their goals, skills, abilities and how they preferred to manage their health. Health Action Plans were used to reflect this process.

People were empowered to carry out person centred activities, despite their perceived challenges. Staff took action to remove barriers and make reasonable adjustments to enable people to do whatever it was they wanted to do. People were able to do this largely due to staff having an excellent understanding of people’s individual needs relating to their protectedcharacteristics and abilities. Staff went the extra mile to overcome any challenges which may otherwise have rendered an activity as being simply ‘too challenging’. This ‘can do’ attitude helped ensure people lived a full a life as possible. The provider took a key role in the local community and actively built links, so people were active and valued members of their local communities. This helped not only people’s emotional well-being but increased their self-esteem. For example, one person had a passion for art and with staff support, their artwork had been displayed in both a local art gallery and a gallery abroad which had given the person great pleasure and validation.

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 fostered contact with other community resources and networks to help ensure people received joined up care and support in line with their choice. For example, the provider had knowledge of locations in the community which could meet the needs of people being supported, for example, accessible toilet facilities and venues which were designed to accommodate the needs of people who were neurodivergent.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. Information was presented to people in a way they understood, to help ensure people were able to make appropriate choices based on options which had been presented to them in an accessible way. Personalised communication care plans helped care staff provide effective and individualised support to people. Adjustments were made to reduce any potential barriers in communication. For example, for one person, information was provided in such a way as to allow the person to process any information and respond accordingly. The provider ensured people's voices were heard. The use of independent advocates was facilitated for those people who wished to use them. An advocate can help people to express their views and wishes.

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. An accessible complaints policy was in place to ensure people knew how to give feedback on their support and that any feedback would be acted on. The provider used learning from any complaints as an opportunity to implement improvements. Staff engaged people in a multitude of ways to ensure their feedback was obtained and considered. This included physical ‘welfare checks’ to people’s home were assessment and reviews of their care were used as opportunities to directly engage with people and gather their thoughts and views on their care and support.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. People’s needs were understood and care and support were delivered in a way which met those needs and promoted equality. The service worked with a recovery practitioner nurse who was able to liaise with external professionals and services and advocate for people. This support had enabled people to access the care and additional support they required without the need for a hospital admission.

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. An equality, diversity and human rights approach to delivering people’s care and support and staff’s knowledge of the person helped ensure people’s exposure to any inequality in their support and treatment was limited. Staff worked hard to overcome any challenges to help ensure people achieved positive outcomes and were given the tools to challenge any barriers which did not align with people’s best interests.

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. Although people supported were largely of a younger age and were reluctant to engage in conversations with end-of-life care, staff made every effort to ensure people and their families were actively involved in developing care plans and involving relevant professionals where appropriate. Any relevant deaths were reported to LeDeR. (LeDeR focuses on learning from the lives and deaths of people with a learning disability and autistic people. It is about local service improvement to better understand why people are dying early and what can be done improve the health of people with a learning disability and autistic people and reduce health inequalities). The provider recognised the potential emotional toll end of life care could have on staff and ensured staff had the appropriate support and guidance they needed to manage such situations. We saw multiple examples of people being empowered and supported to make decisions about their future, for example, transitions to more independent living and securing employment.