Mulberry Court

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.

This service scored 71 (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, well-being and communication needs with them.

The provider assessed people’s needs before they moved to the service. They developed care plans based on these assessments. People told us they were involved in, “Showing new people around, and people could stay overnight to see if they liked it.”

Staff told us if there were any changes to people’s assessed needs and support plans, they were kept up to date. Records showed care plans were reviewed regularly. We received mixed feedback from relatives about them being involved in reviewing the care and support their loved one received. Staff told us that they felt peoples care plans were accurate and up to date.

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 told us their care needs and personal preferences were discussed with them and carried out by staff who were consistent in their approach, which they considered to be important.

Staff worked closely with specialist professionals to ensure the support provided for people met with nationally recognised good practice standards for needs, such as mobility, mental health and nutrition. People’s nutrition and hydration needs were identified and monitored using aMalnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST). This is used to determine the risk of, and manage risks of malnutrition or obesity. Guidance was in place for staff around modified diets and training was completed in this area.

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.

Care plans included information about people’s health conditions and were updated regularly to reflect their changing needs. The service used an electronic care planning system and staff told us this made information easily accessible.

Hospital passports had been developed to ensure easy information sharing. Staff worked well together and completed handovers to ensure all staff were updated on people’s care and health.

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.

The service had effective working relationships with a wide range of health and social care professionals whose input was recorded on the electronic system used by the service. The information was also recorded on people’s care plans and easily accessed by staff. People told us they were able to see GPs and other health professionals when needed and staff supported them if required.

Care plans set out people’s health needs and lifestyle choices. Staff knew people very well and were alert to any changes in their well-being and health. If staff had any concerns they sought appropriate professional advice in a timely way.

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.

Records showed people’s support was regularly assessed. Staff monitored people’s physical well-being and liaised with other professionals to help ensure people remained physically well. They also monitored for any deterioration in people’s mental health and involved other professionals when needed. Care plans recorded changes to people’s needs or personal preferences, and how to meet them. Staff spoke enthusiastically about supporting people to achieve good outcomes by promoting opportunities and experiences that took account of their diverse needs and preferences.

Staff understood how to ensure people’s rights were fully respected and had received training and supervision to ensure it was happening in practice.

The provider did not always tell people about their rights around consent and did not always respect their rights when delivering care and treatment.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (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 supported to do so when needed. Where a person lacks capacity to make specific decisions, any made on their behalf must be the least restrictive and in their best interests.

People's mental capacity (MCA) had been assessed around decisions such as video surveillance for monitoring seizures, staff or relative supporting activities outside of the home and staff supporting with personal care. However, only 1 Best Interest Decision meeting had been held. The remaining five meetings to determine such arrangements were arranged to take place. This meant people did not always have the necessary consents in place to ensure their rights were fully respected.

This was identified at the last 2 inspections as an area for improvement and was included in the action plan submitted by the provider since the previous inspection in October 2024. The manager confirmed MCA's and Best Interest decisions will be updated and recorded onto each person’s care plan.Shortly after our inspection the provider confirmed all Best Interest Decision meetings had been held and all MCA assessments had been reviewed.

Staff received training in MCA processes. They demonstrated understanding of supporting people’s rights around consent. We saw, for example, how they used people’s preferred communication methods to ensure people had the right information to make their choices and decisions. Such as pointing to objects/pictures to decide what to eat or drink.