Swan House

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

People mostly received person-centered care. People were provided with information in formats which met their needs. People and their relatives understood how to make a complaint if they needed to. People had their needs and preferences assessed and plans put in place to meet them, however people did not always have plans in place to set out their future wishes for end of life care and some plans lacked details.

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.

People described receiving person-centered care. One person told me, "The staff know me well, they know I tell it as it is. They respect my choices."

Staff demonstrated they knew people well and gave examples of how people were supported in line with their care plans. For example, 1 person's communication style was described, and staff told us how they responded to the person. They were also able to describe peoples interests which included 1 person who liked to go out several times a week and take part in art activities. The registered manager told us, work was ongoing to ensure peoples care plans were more personalised. They were still working to get all the information they needed about people. They had begun to personalise people’s bedrooms and this was based on preferences and individual choices.

We saw people were engaged in a range of activities throughout the assessment. This included staff spending time with people reading and taking part in exercise activities. People appeared to enjoy the activities, smiling and laughing.

People reported that staff worked with others to meet their diverse needs. For example, people confirmed staff supported them with their cultural and religious needs.

Staff described accessing information about people's diverse needs from care plans. The registered manager told us they had recently gained the support from a local Vicar who had started to offer services and communion at the home if people were unable to attend Church.

Partner agencies described positive multidisciplinary working with the staff. For example, staff worked well with; case managers, GPs, social care staff and dieticians.

Care plans held some information about people's individual needs, however information about some protected characteristics required review and updating.

People described being able to access information in a way that they could understand.

Staff described being able to access information about people’s individual communication needs in their care plans. One staff member said, "We make adjustments, use pictures and signs to help people like [person's name]." The registered manager demonstrated they understood the Accessible Information Standards and gave examples of how they had ensured people received information in a way they understood and how this was incorporated into people's care plans.

Care plans included detailed information about how people should be supported with their communication. For example, cards with images were used for 1 person. Information for people was available in large print as standard for people to read. Everyone had their individual communication needs assessed and reviewed and referrals to professionals were made where additional assessment and support was required.

People knew how to make a complaint, but no one had needed to do so. One relative told us, "I have no worries about making a complaint, the manager is very good, her door is always open."

Staff were aware of how to support people to make a complaint. One staff member said, "If someone complains to me, I apologise straight away, document what is said and report to management, I would also investigate the issues straight away." The registered manager described how they had built relationships with people and relatives to ensure they felt supported and could approach them at any time with any concerns, feedback and suggestions to drive improvement within the service.

A complaints policy was in place and was accessible to people and their relatives.

People were supported to access services when they needed to. This included timely support with health needs alongside support accessing social based community services.

Staff and the registered manger described how they supported people to access the right care at the right time. For example, they advocated for people to ensure they received support from doctors and other health professionals in a timely manner.

Partner agencies confirmed people were supported to access appropriate care and support when they needed it.

Policies and procedures ensured staff followed local and national care pathways to access the right care and support for people at the right time.

People did not report any concerns with inequality.

Leaders and staff described how they had built trusting relationships with residents and advocated for them on their behalf to uphold and promote their human rights in a caring, compassionate and person centred way. They described doing this through the care planning approach in place.

The provider had an equality and diversity policy in place. The policy set out the commitment to equality and diversity including how people who use services and staff recruited should be treated.

People and their relatives described being involved in discussions which planned for their future care needs when they came to the end of their life. One relative told us, "We have father in laws funeral plan, the home know we have it. So when the time comes it is all in place."

Staff demonstrated they understood how to support people when they came to the end of their life. However, they reported not always having access to detailed information about people’s end of life care needs. One staff member told us, "End of life care includes increased 1 to 1 support from staff, regular mouth care, updates to the family to keep them informed if they are not here and maintain dignity for people. No information in care plans, just the funeral directors details and family details." The registered manager told us more work was planned to ensure conversations with people and their relatives were held to improve people’s end of life care plans.

Processes had been effective in identifying the need for end of life care plans to be improved and the provider and registered manager were working to make these improvements.