ProAce Healthcare Services Ltd

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. This is the first assessment of this service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 67 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care and well-being needs with them. The registered manager met with people and their relatives before packages of care started to ensure their needs could be met by the service. A person commented, “We had a meeting at the beginning and the manager discussed things with me.” The registered manager completed a needs assessment which we advised should also detail people’s communication and mental capacity needs. Further development was required to ensure this information was reflected in people’s care plans. The registered manager told us this would be addressed.

The service 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. People were supported with their nutrition and hydration where required. A person commented, “Staff prepare my breakfast and lunch and leave me a sandwich for tea. I choose what I eat, they always ask me what I fancy. There is time to chat whilst we wait for my meals to cook.”

The service 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. The service had a system in place for staff to communicate with each other and with people which enabled them to effectively deliver people’s care and support. Staff had access to an app on their electronic devices where updates and messages could be shared between staff instantaneously. A relative commented, “We have a care plan and a white board and dark marker, and staff make us aware and do us a daily record.” Staff made timely referrals and worked well with other agencies to ensure people's treatment needs were met. Professionals were positive about ProAce staff. Their comments included, “My liaison with ProAce Healthcare staff has been very kind, warm and welcoming. They have always responded appropriately and followed our advice”, and “In my experience I have found Pro Ace Healthcare staff, including care workers, senior care staff members and managers to be professional, responsive, and willing to go the extra mile.”

The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. Many people using the service were receiving end of life care. People’s care plans contained detail around individual health conditions including what a good day looked like or a bad day for the person, with signs of deterioration and action to take in response. Staff had the knowledge to monitor and identify a deterioration in a person’s health. Other people managed their own health and wellbeing with the support from their loved ones. Where people required support, such as making phone calls to a person’s GP, staff supported people to do this. A person commented, “Staff notice if I am not too well. They ring the GP, last week they telephoned my brother to tell him I was not well.”

The service 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. There was evidence of regular reviews and action being taken immediately following any changes to people’s health needs. A relative told us, “The manager calls in every 6 weeks to do a review”, and “I have a copy of [Name]’s care plan, we discuss it, and it is updated when there have been any changes.” During reviews, care needs were discussed to improve outcomes. A professional commented, “The management team consistently attend reviews.” Regular audits were also carried out to monitor and improve outcomes.

The service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. People’s consent to care and support was respected by staff. The management team carried out assessments, of people’s mental capacity. However, some improvements were needed to mental capacity records to ensure they contained all relevant information and were documented in line with the Mental Capacity Act guidance. This included recording all relevant others involved in Best Interest decision making, where people did not have the mental capacity to give consent. The registered manager told us this would be addressed.