Hourigan House Residential Care Home

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 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.

The provider used the referral form or local authority support plan, shared when placements are commissioned by the local authority, as well as their own documentation, to assess people’s suitability for admission to the home, ensure it could meet their needs and help create initial care plans and risk assessments. People’s care reviewed during the inspection, had been completed in line with their assessed needs. We reviewed a number of care plans and risk assessments and found these mirrored the information provided during assessment and reflected people’s wishes about how care should be provided

We did not look at Delivering evidence-based care and treatment during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at How staff, teams and services work together during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

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 had access to a range of medical professionals, including a General Practitioner (GP), district nurses, dieticians and speech and language therapists (SaLT). The GP completed a weekly ward round, which allowed any minor issues to be discussed and addressed quickly. The involvement of any medical professionals was documented in people’s care records.

When required, referrals to medical and other healthcare professionals had been timely. For example, where people had experienced unplanned weight loss or were struggling to swallow their food safely and correctly.

The home’s activity schedule included activities to promote people’s wellbeing, for example active games which got people moving, physical tasks such as gardening and a yoga session, to aid flexibility and overall wellness.

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.

Overall, monitoring of care provision was being completed accurately and consistently. This included the completion of repositioning charts, weight records, and the use of thickening powder in people’s drinks, prescribed when people have issues with safely swallowing liquids. Monitoring charts were reviewed by the provider to ensure accuracy and identify any gaps.

Where people had any wounds or bruising, these were regularly reviewed and audited, to track improvements. Records completed during this process explained what treatment had been provided and the outcome of this.

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

Care records contained consent forms, which covered a range of areas including consent to care and treatment, use of people’s photograph, access to records and for staff to provide support with medicines administration.

Where people lack capacity to consent, unless they have previously appointed a lasting power of attorney (LPA) to make health and welfare decisions on their behalf, any decisions need to be made by following the best interest process. This involves a group of people, often the provider, family members and relevant professionals, meeting to discuss decisions which need to be made, and agreeing what is in the persons best interest. Care records showed the best interest process had been used appropriately to make necessary decisions. However, the provider was not consistently documenting who had been involved in the decision making process. The registered manager agreed to ensure this was done moving forwards.