The examples below provide insight into how other Good or Outstanding rated services are succeeding in this area of inspection.
Use the filter to choose different types of examples or select based on related prompt.
Thorough assessments with communication support
The service always made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by thoroughly assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them. The provider carried out an assessment of people’s dementia needs, the staff received additional support in the form of communication coaching which had a positive impact of meeting people’s needs.
Read more about this service .
Care provider: Pytchley Court Nursing 天美mv
Date published: October 2024
Comprehensive personalised assessment matching
The service always made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by thoroughly assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.
Everyone who wished to use the service had their needs thoroughly assessed before their care began. Assessments were very comprehensive and included information about people’s needs, likes, dislikes and what made them comfortable. One relative told us, “We were totally and fully involved in the assessment and then we made up a care plan all together. What they like what makes them feel comfortable.”
The assessments included people’s lifestyle choices and hobbies to enable the provider to match staff to the person. Relatives commented how well-matched staff were to their loved ones. One relative said, “After the assessment they suggested the match. It worked; they are just so comfortable together.”
Read more about this service .
Care provider: Kulera Care
Date published: October 2024
Collaborative personalised care planning
People and their relatives had been involved in their assessments and regular reviews of their needs. A person told us, “I go out a lot and its written down in my plan, staff take me. I can look at my plan.” Another said, “I have helped write my care plan so I know what is in it and when it needs to be changed.”
Staff said they could easily read about people’s needs and choices as care plans were clear, accessible and up to date. A staff member said, “We have had a lot of training and discussion on making sure we write people’s daily records in a good and clear way. Also, we say how they feel and what choices they made.” We noted a good staff ratio, ensuring that they could adequately meet the needs of the people living at the service.
There was a system in place to ensure assessments looked at people’s needs and wishes. People's care plans were personalised, holistic and based on their strengths and aspirations. People’s care plans included an assessment of need, as well as risk assessments which included using equipment, going into the community, mobility, pressure care and eating and drinking. The manager explained how they assessed the needs of people, for example visiting a person in hospital to discuss if Ashview was suitable for them but also considered the needs and welfare of those already living at the service.
Read more about this service .
Care provider: Ashview
Date published: September 2024
Exceptional personalised transition support
The way in which people's need were assessed was exceptional and fully supported people to start living at the service in a positive way. Some people had recently started living at the service and the registered manager told us how they had assessed people’s needs. Assessments focused primarily on people’s individual preferences and support needs and how to maximise their involvement in the assessment process.
Staff went out of their way to visit people multiple times in places they currently lived to get to know them and how they liked to be supported. This filtered in to detailed care plans and risk assessments which gave full detail about how best to support people. People living at the service had lived in other services for a long period of time and found transition difficult. However, thanks to the approach of the staff and management team people had settled into the service remarkably well and were happy and comfortable.
Read more about this service .
Care provider: The Limes
Date published: August 2024
How comprehensive assessment of needs can make a huge difference to the person's quality of life
Staff completed a comprehensive assessment of people's needs before they started to provide care and support. This assessment included the views and experiences of the person, their family and professionals who knew them well.
These holistic assessments reflected a philosophy of support that placed the person fully at the centre and respects their history, family culture and traditions. For one person with very complex support needs this philosophy had been made explicit in a written document that underpinned all their care and support.
The CQC were told by staff, professionals and relatives this enhanced and innovative approach had underpinned support that had made a huge difference to the person's quality of life resulting in markedly less distress and increased participation in their community and activities that brought them pleasure.
Read more about this service .
Care provider: Dimensions Dorset West
Date published: January 2023
Emulating how that person lives to find the best fit
Preadmission assessments are very thorough. The service uses the opportunity to emulate how that person lives to when they come into the home and see if they are the right fit. They then complete a six-week review with people and their families. The services use the feedback to enhance their lives through improvement.
One person took more time to settled in and as staff got to know that person better, they realised it was do with the person's room. As a result, with consultation with the person and their family, the person moved rooms. The familiarity of the room made it easier for the person to settle in.
Read more about the service .
Care provider: The Royal Star & Garter 天美mv - High Wycombe
Date published: January 2023
Building a picture of the person
One autistic person with complex needs had been told by their landlord they needed to find a new home. The provider facilitated a full assessment of the person's needs, including their complex sensory needs.
Staff worked with other professionals to build a picture of the person and realised they were far more complex than anyone appreciated. Because this assessment work had not been done before this led to both a greater and a new understanding of the autistic person's needs.
This enabled the person to receive a correct diagnosis and be supported to find the correct placement.
Read more about this service .
Care provider: Avenues South East
Date published: November 2022
Using a broad range of processes to assess need
People, and where appropriate families, were involved in pre-admission assessments to establish their care and support needs.
When people had specific clinical needs specialist health professionals had been involved in assessments. This included specialist nurses working in the community palliative care team and physiotherapists.
Assessments were completed using nationally recognised assessment tools that reflected best practice and met legal requirements. The assessments also included any specialist equipment needed such as pressure relieving mattresses and moving and handling equipment.
Read more about this service .
Care provider: Burwood Nursing 天美mv
Date published: September 2022
Tailoring food and drink to people's preferences from the start
People's nutritional requirements were discussed with them during the pre-admission assessment. This was used to develop a personalised nutritional care plan that included the person's likes and dislikes, portion sizes and food preference.
The service also recorded information about people's dining preferences. This included information such as where people liked to eat, who they may want to eat with and be with, whether they have a special mug or plate, what drink they preferred and any food that should be avoided due to their medication. A copy of this was available to staff in the dining room to ensure they were providing the person's preferred dining experience.
Where people required their food to be prepared in a certain way, such as with the consistency modified, the service ensured it was presented in an appetising form: for example, pureed carrots being presented on the plate in a carrot shape. At a recent party the chef made sandwiches, scones and brownies for people who required modified diets. This meant people on restricted diets were able to enjoy the party without feeling left out or different.
The service used innovative approaches to encouraging people to eat and drink, such as a drinking game which encouraged people to drink. There was also an activity called 'time for tea' involving staff from across the service. The kitchen made treats and people decorated a trolley, before being able to choose treats from the trolley.
Read more about this service .
Care provider: Davers Court - Care UK Community Partnerships Ltd
Date published: March 2020
Understanding people, respecting their wishes
Communication difficulties wasn’t considered a barrier to people being able to express their wishes. Staff understood how people expressed positives and negatives and how they displayed that they were happy or unhappy, in pain or upset.
People's families and loved ones were involved appropriately in best interest decisions. Restrictions to people's freedoms and liberties were minimised. People were enabled to leave the home as they wished based on assessed risk. The home took the least restrictive approach with risk management and had a very flexible approach.
Read more about this service .
Care provider: Creative Support - Doncaster Personalised Services
Date published: February 2020
Adjusting care plans to suit the client
Care packages are set up at the person’s pace, and person and their family have the opportunity to review the first care plan before care commences so that changes can be made to get it exactly right. During the first few weeks of care, we liaise frequently with the person and their family to make tweaks and adjustments to the care plan as needed.
Read more about the service .
Care provider: Care Concern (天美mvcare) Ltd
Date published: April 2018
Working with people receiving care to adapt décor to their needs
The décor of the home had been designed by staff in conjunction with the person to provide contrasting doorframes and rounded edges to walls to reduce the risk of injury through bumping into things.
The service noted the person had been less frustrated since the changes to the décor had been made, and they were no longer bumping into walls and furniture.
Care provider: Anonymous
Date published: April 2018
Supporting people and their families鈥� wishes around healthcare
During a routine visit, the homecare agency care worker recognised signs of a stroke and called an ambulance. The person was soon discharged, much to the family’s distress, as they were concerned more healthcare support was needed. The registered manager refused to take the person home as a result, and this action is likely to have saved the person’s life as they suffered another stroke that evening.
Care provider: Anonymous
Date published: April 2018
How we use assessments, plans and strategies
Wherever possible, the service doesn’t use restraint. They adopt different strategies and approaches, enabling them to work with behaviours that may be seen as challenging, in an effective way. Some behaviours that may be seen as challenging can often be an expression by the person of a deeper anxiety that we need to try to understand and support them with.
Where they recognise that low levels of physical restraint may be necessary – such as when more than one person is required to deliver personal care where resistance is expressed but the care is essential – they’ll undertake mental capacity assessments and complete best interest decision documents involving all concerned.
This approach ensures the decision-making is evidenced well and any measures put in place are proportionate to the person’s needs. Any documentation is updated on (at least) a monthly basis to ensure that the actions are still appropriate.
Read more about this service .
Care provider: Brunelcare鈥檚 Deerhurst Care 天美mv (with Nursing)
Date published: April 2018