Comfort Call-North Tyneside

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.
Staff obtained detailed information about people before they confirmed they were able to effectively meet their needs. The providers electronic care planning system ensured staff consistently gathered information about people such as life history, routines and preferences, care and support needs, risks, capacity and consent and hobbies and interests.

There was evidence of involvement of people, their families and health and social care partners in gathering full information to assess and agree care and support needs. This allowed staff to develop person-centred care and support plans for each individual.

As part of the provider’s ‘Outcome Focused Care’ initiative, they were reviewing their assessment procedures to ensure their system allowed for better recording of personal objectives, goals and reablement aspirations for people.
 

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.

Staff worked with healthcare partners and specialist practitioners to ensure their guidance and recommendations were incorporated into the care, treatment and support plans.

Staff supported people with nutritional and hydration needs taking into account individual risks and conditions which impacted their ability to manage this independently.

Staff learned from people what foods and drinks they liked and their preferred mealtimes. Staff had undergone additional training in meeting people’s nutritional needs to improve outcomes for people living alone.
 

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.

Staff accessed and shared essential information on their handheld devices. People were involved to ensure this information was current and up to date.

Where people had important documents such as specialist records and DNACPR forms (Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) for example, these were securely stored in people’s homes. A DNACPR form is a written medical record that tells healthcare professionals not to try CPR if a person’s heart or breathing stops. This helped staff respond where people needed care across different environments or in the event of an emergency situation.

A healthcare professional told us, “Communication is timely and information requests are dealt with appropriately."
 

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.
Staff supported people to live healthier lives by informing them about healthy lifestyle choices, assisting with rehabilitation, offering encouragement to continue to pursue goals, interests, activities and supporting independent choices.
People were supported to access healthcare and specialist services to support their individual needs which included hospital appointments, meetings with specialist practitioners and homebased visits.
 

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.
Care plans were reviewed and adapted in response to changing needs. There were health action plans in place to support people with long-term conditions, autism or a learning disability and to ensure necessary health reviews were completed.

Staff considered care and support outcomes and what mattered most to people as part of the review process. People provided feedback on care and support provided when looking at improving outcomes and service quality.

Where people were assessed at risk of malnutrition, staff recorded food and fluid intake. This was used to inform staff if a person was becoming malnourished or dehydrated. Fluid monitoring could be improved by recording the amount people drank rather than the number and size of cups.

The provider proactively sought feedback from people regarding their care and support. The ‘Service User Voice’ initiative allowed staff to respond to any shortfall or unfavourable outcomes for people in a timely manner.
 

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

Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and had a good awareness of the principles. The MCA provides a legal framework for making decisions on behalf of people who may lack the capacity to do so for themselves. Where staff had a concern about a person’s ability to consent, they ensured an appropriate referral was made to a healthcare partner to undertake a review. There were capacity assessments in people’s care plans to ensure people received care which was in their best interests.

People told us staff always asked for their permission to enter their home and consent before undertaking any care and support task. People were informed of their right to accept or decline support from staff. Where people had particular communication needs, staff adapted their approach by using different methods to support decision making.