Elm Lea Residential 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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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.

At our last inspection, we found that there were not sufficient activities to keep people engaged and to reduce the risk of social isolation. At this inspection we found improvements. People and their relatives told us they received person centred care. People were supported to take part in a range of activities including walks to the pub or seaside, outings, and group and individual activities within the home. Relatives told us, “They are always taking someone somewhere, they take the residents out for a lunch to the pub. It means they get to see other things,” and “Theres an activities programme with singers. They try to involve everyone that’s there.” Relatives told us that the activities were meaningful to their loved ones,

A relative told us that one of the best things about the service for their loved one was the socialisation. They told us, “I think the personal socialising side of things is very good. Mum has made friends with 1-2 people which she didn’t have before.” Another relative told us of the positive impact socialisation at the service has had on their loved one. They told us, “She used to sit at home alone watching TV. She’s taken up knitting which she didn’t do before.”

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.

People were supported by a small team of staff who knew their needs well. The staffing team were established and relatives told us this ensured their loved ones received continuity in care.

Clinical support was provided by staff, the care home team and district nurses. Staff were trained and competent to support diabetic people with insulin administration, and district nurses supported people when they had wounds.

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

People had access to information in different formats. Within the reception of the service, information was available in accessible formats including for example large print to ensure people had access to inform them how to make a complaint for example. An activity planner was created and distributed to make people aware of the activities that had been planned. People and their relatives told us they had access to information they needed.

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.

People and their loved ones were supported to express their opinions about the service and the quality of care people received. Relatives told us they knew how to raise concerns. They told us, “If I have raised things [the registered manager] has dealt with it promptly. The staff are easy to talk to, they rectify anything that’s needed.”

Relatives told us they were kept up to date with their loved one’s care. They told us, “They contact us with any issues. They are always on the phone to me,” and “Monthly you get a rundown of what's happened in the month.” Staff told us they received the information they needed to care for people. Staff said, “Communication within the service is very good.”

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

Staff and the registered manager facilitated timely access to healthcare professionals, including GPs and district nurses. Staff proactively managed referrals, to ensure people’s needs were met when they changed. Care plans clearly reflected individual health conditions, with timely external referrals made as soon as health concerns were identified.

Staff and leaders were innovative in how they listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes. Staff and leaders actively used this information to provide exceptionally tailored care, support and treatment in response to this.

Support was rooted in purpose. Staff actively enabled people to pursue what mattered most to them, such as facilitating attendance at a church service that held immense value for a resident and their loved ones. The registered manager had supported a person, to ensure that person was able to visit a place of great significance to them. A relative told us, “The registered manager did it because she wanted him to do it. It was a lovely thing. He remembered he got married there, his memory is poor. They gave him something he was able to remember and tap into. If they can do it they will. It was lovely.”

As a resident’s dementia advanced, their loved ones were concerned that they may need to consider moving the person to another service. However the registered manager arranged for them to quickly move to a ground-floor room that offered them a safer space which combined with increased observations gave family peace of mind and reduced the risk to that person. The relative told us, “It seems like a small thing but it is a lot to us.”

People told us that staff and the registered manager went out of their way to support them by providing information to help them make informed decisions. For example, following a difficult hospital admission the registered manager approached the family to discuss considering future decisions to ensure that their loved one was comfortable. The told us, “The registered manager gave us all the information, gave us time to consider and process it and supported us to put things in place. They made it feel much easier than it should have been.”

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.

People’s end of life wishes were obtained and documented within their care plans. Staff ensured that people had access to medicines they may need at the end of their lives. Staff were aware of people’s wishes, and any advance decisions people made about their care and support. For example, one person had decided they did not want to go to hospital for treatment if they became unwell. Relatives told us they were involved in planning their loved ones advanced decisions.