Aiding Independence

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 support and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, support, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

There were effective processes in operation to understand people’s needs and wishes before they were offered a service. People and their relatives were given the opportunity to meet other people and staff in a relaxed way at drop in sessions and events. An assessment was completed with everyone involved in the person’s support which covered all areas of their life. The registered manager got to know the person and matched them up with staff who had similar interests, such as playing computer games. People met with staff and the registered manager assessed their interactions to make sure staff could provide the support the person wanted in the way they preferred. There was a transition process for people when they began to receive support. This included day visits and overnight stays, which slowly increased in length as the person became more confident. The process of transition into the service was taken at the pace of the person.

People’s support plans and goals were kept under review, leaders reviewed plans every six months or when people’s needs changed.

The provider planned and delivered people’s support 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.

The provider worked in line with the principles of our Right Care, Right Support, and Right Culture guidance. People’s support plans included person centred goals they wished to achieve and how they would be supported to achieve these. People had nationally recognised Distress and Discomfort Assessment Tools (DisDat), which identified how they communicated distress or discomfort to help staff and health care professionals understand what people were telling them.

People were supported to manage their health conditions such as diabetes following national evidence based guidance. Staff told us how they supported people to follow guidance and adapted their routines to help with this.

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 hospital passports in place and staff understood how people communicated their health care needs and when they were feeling unwell. Hospital passports and DisDats were taken to appointments or when people went into hospital, to make sure people received their support according to their preferences. People were accompanied by staff, where people wanted this, to support them to share how they were feeling and understand their treatment. A relative told us they shared the outcome of appointments with them. Other relatives told us they supported people to attend health care appointments as this was what the person preferred. Staff told us they had positive working relationships with people’s GPs and learning disability nurses.

One person had been admitted to hospital. They relative explained, “When they were in hospital the staff stayed with them all the time. They were never alone”. This had reassured the person and supported them to remain calm.

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 support.

A relative told us staff supported their loved one to eat a healthy diet which helped them manage a medical condition. Another relative told us staff had supported their relative to lose weight to remain healthy, they said, “They are on a diet and look amazing”. Staff told us they had supported the person to celebrate healthy choices and weight loss, so it did not feel like a chore.

Staff described how they supported people to remain as healthy as possible including keeping active and taking part in fun activities such as tennis, swimming and bowling.

People told us they were supported to attend regular health checks, including 6 monthly dental checks and eye tests. Staff supported people to have an annual health check with their GP.

The provider routinely monitored people’s support to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both professional expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

Staff knew people well and promptly identified when their needs changed. They had worked with health care professionals to support one person to comfortably remain in their own home when they needs changed. As the person’s needs continued to change staff kept their support under constant review. They had followed recognised guidelines to keep the person safe and well.

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

Staff understood their responsibilities to support people, when needed, to make decisions. People receiving support from the service had been assessed as being able to make day to day decisions and staff provided them with the information they needed. Staff respected people’s choices, including when these were unwise, such as to eat unhealthy food or not to take exercise they were recommended. Staff told us, “We encourage people to have their own voice” and “If someone wanted to make an unwise choice, we would support them to do it safely”. People told us they made decisions about all areas of their lives. They explained to us how they planned their meals with staff and shopped for them.

Staff had worked with people, their relatives, advocates, social workers and health care professionals to make complex decisions in people’s best interests, such as moving house.