Kitec Supported Living

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

Peoples’ needs, and choices, were assessed and took into account their diverse needs and preferences. Staff supported people to live healthier lives, attend health appointments and support people with their mental health needs. The provider worked in close partnership with external health and social care professionals to plan and deliver people's care. People were supported in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act. Staff demonstrated an understanding of the need for consent and supporting people to make decisions about their care. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

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's needs were assessed and care and support was planned in line with their individual preferences. People, and others involved in their care, were actively involved in these assessments which helped staff deliver effective care to people. A relative told us, “Right from the beginning I have been involved in regular meetings about [family member’s] care. The staff always involve me and ask my opinions.”

Staff understood how people’s needs should be met. A staff member told us, “People’s support plans have so much information about their needs and how we should support them.” The provider said, “We regularly participate in interdisciplinary team meetings that include specialists such as occupational therapists, neuro rehabilitation teams, speech and language therapists and others relevant to the client’s condition. These meetings facilitate open communication and coordinate care planning. For example, staff worked with an occupational therapist and a neuro rehab team to tailor interventions to improve a person’s mobility and daily living activities.”

Systems were in place to assess and review people’s needs. The service engaged with people and others involved in their care; to obtain the information they needed to plan and deliver the care and support people required. This included information about people’s medical history, current healthcare conditions, their care needs and the outcomes they wished to achieve from the support provided. Shared care plans had been developed that were accessible to all relevant health professional. This ensured that every professional working with a person had up-to-date information on the care strategies and interventions in place. People’s care records were individualised and reflected their preferences for how and when care and support should be provided.

People received care which reflected good practice because staff worked closely with other professionals and involved people in planning their own care. One person told us, “The staff have not been just pulled out of the supermarket. They are very well trained and very competent.”

Staff confirmed they were provided with good support and training to meet people's needs effectively. We saw that an ongoing schedule of training was in place, to ensure staff kept up to date with best practice, this included specific training in relation to people’s mental health needs and learning disabilities. One staff member told us, “We have weekly training sessions on various subjects to make sure we are always up to date with new practices.” Staff explained how they supported people to attend appointments or reminded them about their appointments to ensure they met with healthcare professionals. We were told by all staff we spoke with that they promoted healthy lifestyle choices, with diet, exercise and good mental health.

Systems were in place to support staff to deliver care to people in line with legislation, current practice and standards. New staff completed an induction where they worked with experienced staff to understand and gain knowledge about the job role. All staff completed training ensure they were up to date with best practice guidance. We also saw the provider carried out regular spot checks to observe that staff were working in line with best practice.

People experienced continuity of care when they started to use the service because the staff worked with them, and the people and agencies involved in their care, to assess their needs and have care plans in place to meet these.

Staff were supported to deliver the care and support people required as soon as they started to use the service. The provider ensured that staff had access to information about people’s care and support needs and were informed about how people’s needs should be met. Staff told us they worked well with other healthcare professionals and one commented, “[Person’s] GP has been really helpful and signposted us to other agencies for advice and extra support.”

Health and social care professionals confirmed the service worked alongside them to ensure people’s care and support needs were met.

Systems were in place to incorporate advice from other health and social care professionals working with the service. We saw advice and directions recorded in people’s support plans, so staff had access to this information and were able to help deliver continuity of care. Regular multi-disciplinary meetings were held when people’s needs changed. The provider had introduced a workforce app so that changes to people’s care could be shared with staff swiftly.

People using the service told us they had access to relevant health care professionals as required. For example, 1 person told us, “The carers encourage me to maintain a good balance and maintain my wellbeing. They support me with my clinical appointments and my medicines and encourage me to eat healthy.” One person was supported to have 3 monthly blood tests, and people were also supported to attend opticians, the dentist and the community dental service specialist.

Staff told us they supported people with their mental health and attended clinic appointments with people if they needed that extra support. One staff member said, “I do support people with their mental health needs and their wellbeing. We assist people with health appointments and attend their appointments with them if they wish us to.”

Staff received training in how to meet and appropriately manage people’s mental health and care needs. Care plans detailed their health care needs and conditions and the action staff needed to take to keep people fit and well. Staff ensured people routinely attended scheduled health care appointments and had regular check-ups with a range of external, community-based medical and health care professionals.

People were positive about their care and support. They told us they had opportunities to do things that mattered to them, such as find employment and attend study at university. One person told us how they had been supported to join a patients participation group in relation to people’s mental health. They said, “This is very important to me, and I feel I have a voice.”

The provider took a proactive approach to supporting people to achieve better outcomes. It was clear that the provider and team leader recognised the importance of learning lessons and ensuring continuous improvements to ensure they maintained person-centred and safe care for people they supported. The quality and safety of the service people received were routinely monitored by conducting regular audits and checks and obtaining stakeholder feedback.

The outcome of all audits, monitoring checks and feedback were routinely analysed to identify issues, learn lessons and develop action plans to improve the service they provided people. These quality assurance systems had indicators that identified how the service was performing, areas requiring improvement and areas where the service was achieving or exceeding targets. Key performance indicators included care plan reviews, satisfaction surveys and occurrences, such as accidents and incidents.

People and their relatives told us they were involved in decisions about their care. One person said, “l Iead my care. I know what's in my care plan and if I want to change something I am listened to, and we work together. There is good communication.” A relative commented, “The carers always seek permission from my [family member] before they do anything. They know how to communicate with them. They always check with me as well if there is a decision to be made.”

Staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and told us they always asked people for consent before they undertook any task and always respected people’s decisions. One staff member said, “My training includes training on the Mental Capacity Act and codes of practice.”

Staff had received training and had a good understanding of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). The provider was aware of the process to follow to make formal decisions in people's best interests if needed.