Alexander House Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

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 were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

Care plans accurately reflected people’s needs and how they wished to be supported to meet these needs. Wherever possible, people or, where appropriate, their families were involved in developing and reviewing their care plans. Where people had not been directly involved, this was recorded with the reasons why.

The registered manager was working with staff to improve the person-centred approach to daily recording of people’s activities, feelings and support needs.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

To support people’s wellbeing, the service had links with community health and social care workers and facilities such as a local social club where people could go to enjoy a lunch and activities. Links with local schools and nurseries meant people could interact with and enjoy the company of younger members of the community.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

Information could be provided to people in formats that met their needs as required. This included different fonts, easy read or translation to the language used by the person or their family. The registered manager told us people were offered a copy of their care plan and some people’s relatives told us they had seen their family member’s care plan.

Relatives told us they are joined, if they want to be, to a WhatsApp group for general information, activities and events. A relative told us, “They put messages up for parties, we are well informed of what’s going on and what’s happening”.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

There were a variety of ways in which people could share their feedback and ideas. This included regular surveys which were analysed and the results shared with people in the form of ‘You said, we did’ posters around the service and in meetings. Monthly meetings for people living at the home and quarterly meetings for families were held. There was a board by the registered manager’s office on which people could write comments, questions or compliments and a box in the reception area for the return of feedback forms.

A ‘You said, we did’ in response to feedback from people asking for a new menu, showed this had been discussed and put in place.

One relative gave an example of how responsive staff had been when they raised a concern and another told us, “I could go to anybody, my concerns would be sorted as quickly as possible. It’s a wonderful place it really is.”

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

People were supported to access care, support and treatment in a timely way. A single point of referral was used to make sure the request for support went to the right health or social care professional.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

People and their relatives felt they were treated fairly and equitably. People did not experience any barriers in accessing the care and support they needed within or outside of the home. We discussed with the management team how provision of activities would benefit from some better organisation to make sure people felt fully included.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

The provider had established links with the community palliative care team and the local hospice who had provided staff with end-of-life training.

A ‘My Future Wishes’ document was included in care documentation to enable people to make sure their wishes in relation to end of life care were known. This was document had not always been completed but the registered manager was aware of this and had plans to make sure this was addressed.