South West Care Group LTD T/A Goodoaks Homecare East Dorset

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 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, wellbeing and communication needs with them.
Assessments were completed before care commenced, and staff confirmed they understood people’s current needs. People’s care needs were routinely reviewed. People told us staff understood their assessed needs.
Comments from relatives included, “I arranged my [family member’s] care plan with one of the care co-ordinators and [they] and other staff regularly contact me to discuss any slight tweaks or changes” and “We have regular reviews and there is a copy of the latest care plan at our home”.
 

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.
The provider planned and delivered care with people, focusing on what mattered to them. For example, for people with swallowing difficulties, staff were informed of their dietary requirements through their care plans. Appropriate referrals were made to Speech and Language Therapists (SALT). This ensured specialist advice was obtained in a timely manner and staff were supported with clear guidance to manage people’s needs safely and effectively.
Risk assessments for people using the service were in place. However, some peoples care plans lacked information on how to support their emotional and psychological wellbeing. We raised this with the provider during inspection, and they took immediate action to address this.
 

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.
Emergency grab sheets were in place to provide an overview of people’s specific needs and preferences if they went into hospital or moved to another service. Staff told us that they worked with health professionals such as district nurses and occupational therapists.
We received positive feedback from healthcare professionals working with the service. One professional told us, “I have been consistently impressed with the agency’s communication and willingness to work collaboratively. They have contacted us promptly when concerns have arisen”. Another said, “They have been willing to engage in joint visits, accept updates to care plans, and communicate concerns when they arise”.
 

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's care records demonstrated they had been supported to access relevant health services, for example district nurses. People told us they were supported to contact health professionals when needed. One relative said, “[family member] was referred recently by Good Oaks to the doctor”.
Feedback from the healthcare professionals confirmed this. Comments included, “The carers I have interacted with have shown a good understanding of the client’s individual support needs”.
 

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.

The provider established effective systems to monitor people’s care and treatment and their outcomes. Care plans included information and actions needed to ensure people using the service were supported to improve and maintain their quality of life. This included supporting individuals to maintain or improve their mobility and maintain independence.
The provider actively sought feedback from health and social care professionals and stakeholders as appropriate when monitoring individual outcomes. Health and social care professionals we contacted confirmed this. Comments included, “Through engagement with community physiotherapy and occupational therapy, I believe carers have developed a better understanding of the importance of encouraging participation in care and following professional advice. This has been particularly important in supporting the client to remain at home and preventing further functional deterioration”.
 

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

Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) but did not fully understand or always follow the principles of a best interest process in accordance with legal requirements, when a person lacked capacity to consent to the arrangements for their care and treatment. Consent to care and treatment and subsequent best interest’s decisions had not always been obtained in line with legislation and guidance. We discussed this with the manager, and they took immediate action to rectify this. We will review sustainability of the improvements at the next assessment.
People and their relatives told us they were involved in their care decisions and staff respected those decisions. People were able to make day to day decisions about their lives. For example, they were supported to choose what they would like to wear or how to spend their time as they wished.