St Albans House

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 improved to 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.

People were involved in the assessment of their needs, with varying levels of support provided dependent on people’s needs and wishes. People told us they were confident their needs had been thoroughly assessed and were fully understood by all support staff.

People’s support needs were routinely reviewed. Two people were supported by relatives for assessments and two people relied on the registered manager to be their voice.

People received evidence-based support in line with good practice standards.The provider’s systems ensure staff are up-to-date with national legislation, evidence-based good practice and required standards.

People’s nutrition and hydration needs were met in line with current guidance.People told us they enjoyed the food at the home. The fridge and cupboards were well organised and contained a wide range of food which showed us people enjoyed a varied and healthy diet. For example, the registered manager made homemade mushroom soup for lunch on the day of this assessment.

Staff had access to the information they needed to appropriately assess, plan and deliver people’s support.When people received support from a range of different staff, teams or services, it was co-ordinated effectively and staff worked collaboratively to understand and meet people's needs.

People were empowered and encouraged to be involved with managing their own health, support and wellbeing needs where possible. People were encouraged and supported to make healthier choices to help promote and maintain their health and wellbeing. People were involved in regularly monitoring their health, including health assessments and checks where appropriate and necessary with health and care professionals.

The provider and registered manager had effective approaches to monitor people’s support and treatment and their outcomes. This meant continuous improvements were made to people’s support and treatment as needed.

At the previous inspection in June 2023, we found systems and processes had not been established to protect people from abuse and improper treatment. This placed people at risk of harm and was a breach of regulation 13(1) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

At this inspection we found the provider was no longer in breach of regulation 13(1). People we spoke with understood their rights around consent to the care and treatment they were offered. People’s views and wishes were considered when their support was planned and in all aspects of their day to day lives.

There were systems and practices to ensure people understood any care support or treatment being offered or recommended. This helped people make informed decisions.