The Limes Retirement 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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

At our last assessment the service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to consent. At this assessment the service was no longer in breach of regulation.

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 being assessed prior to moving into the service, this included people and their representatives, where appropriate, about the care and support they needed and preferred. The assessments were used to inform care plans and risk assessments, and these were kept under review. The service operated a ‘resident of the day’ system, which included speaking with people and their relatives about how they felt their needs were being met and if there were any changes.

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 care plans had improved and included information about people’s specific needs, how these needs were met, how their condition affected their daily living and how risks were mitigated.

People’s dietary and hydration needs were documented, and where people were at risk of malnutrition or dehydration, their intake was monitored and kept under review. Staff confirmed they had received training and understood the different textures of food and fluid people required. People told us they received enough to eat and drink. We observed people being offered drinks throughout our visits. A person told us, “Food is plentiful, very good food, plenty of fish, all are catered for, proper cooked meals with all vitamins in there, get plenty of drinks.”

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.

The registered manager and staff told us they had good working relationships with external professionals involved in people’s care. This was confirmed by health professionals, who told us the staff worked well with them, made appropriate referrals and followed advice and guidance. Where guidance was received, this was documented. This meant people received a consistent service where their needs were being met.

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 and relatives told us support was provided to access health professionals where required. This included the GP, district nurses, dieticians and speech and language therapy team. Relatives told us they were kept updated when their family members had been seen by health professionals and how their family member’s wellbeing had improved since living in the service. A relative said, “[Family member] is a lot more content here now and been healthier since Christmas.” Another relative told us, “[Staff] phone me, communication is brilliant, [family member] has put on a stone and would not eat before.”

People’s weights were kept under review and actions taken when required. This included the provision of high calorie snacks and food to support people to maintain a healthy weight. A relative told us how the person’s weight was increasing with support from the staff, “[Family member] is still gaining weight and now signed off from the dieticians.”

People’s care records included guidance for staff in how to support people with their oral care needs. Where people required assistance, this was documented to demonstrate people were being supported as required.

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.

There were systems in place to monitor people’s wellbeing, including weight and falls, and take actions where required. This included sharing outcomes with external health professionals, and guidance sought when needed. Health professionals told us staff were able to identify changes in people’s wellbeing, such as in their skin integrity, and raise them to ensure people received the treatment they required. Support provided to people was kept under review to ensure it was effective. Where changes in the care provision were identified, this was documented in the care plan to ensure people received the care which met their current needs.

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

Care plans included people’s capacity to make decisions about their care and treatment. Where support was required, capacity assessments were in place, and information about the relevant individuals authorised to makes decisions on people’s behalf and in their best interests. The care plans included guidance for staff to ensure people’s consent was sought when providing care and support and how to support people’s choices in line with their individual communication needs.

During our visits we saw staff asked for people’s consent before providing any support, including with their meals and mobility.