- Homecare service
Bloomsbury Home Care - South Essex
Report from 2 October 2024 assessment
Contents
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
The service worked with people to provide care that was person centred and promoted people’s health wellbeing and independence. People were provided with nutrition and hydration to meet their needs. 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.
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.
Assessing needs
Care was person centred to enable staff to support people how they wished to be supported. A relative told us, “Mum had to have a re-assessment, and we tried changing a few things.”
The manager and senior staff told us people were fully assessed before they started using the service and this was regularly reviewed with them.
Before people started using the service a full assessment was completed and a care package put in place that met their needs. This care package was then reviewed with them at regular intervals to ensure people were happy with the support being provided.
Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
We received mixed feedback on people’s experience with meal support. One relative said, “She is happy with staff and likes her meals which is a worry off my mind.” Another person told us, “Staff do microwave meals and don’t even bother to take it out of the container.”
Where people needed support with food and fluids staff took direction from them how they wished this support to be provided. For example, whether people preferred hot meals or snacks prepared by staff for them and what drinks they would like.
People’s dietary and nutrition needs were assessed, and this was included in their person-centred care plans. If people were at risk of choking this was identified so that staff knew how to support them safely. Staff completed safe food hygiene training, and the provider had developed a basic cooking and snack guide to help staff with meal preparation.
How staff, teams and services work together
A relative told us, “There are a team of regular carers I think and that’s okay, as long as they don’t chop and change too much.” Another relative said, “It is not the same carer every time, but they do seem to know her and chat with her, and she appreciates that.”
Staff had access to the information they needed to work with people, and where required helped them safely transition between healthcare teams. The manager told us they received referral information usually from social services and used this as part of the assessment they completed before people started using their service.
We have not received any negative feedback from partner agencies.
The manager had systems in place to receive referrals complete, assessments and ensure they had the capacity to take on care packages and deliver these safely.
Supporting people to live healthier lives
People were supported to access healthcare professionals to prevent deterioration and promote their independence. One relative told us, “Staff do keep me up to date with any medical issues I should be alerted to which is great.” Another relative said, “If I wasn’t around, I have no doubt that staff would contact the district nurse or doctor for me.”
The manager told us they helped people to attend medical appointments, and where needed gained support from other health professionals such as district nurses or occupational therapists. Staff had also helped people access mental health support when they had noticed a deterioration in mental health and needed urgent review.
Staff knew how to escalate health concerns and support people to access additional healthcare support.
Monitoring and improving outcomes
People were able to give their feedback on care through reviews, surveys and directly to staff.
The manager told us they had audits in place to help them monitor outcomes for people. This included asking people for their feedback through meetings and telephone calls and the completion of surveys on their care experience.
The manager had several systems in place to monitor outcomes and used this information to continually develop the service. Through the software in use the manager could monitor call times and if they were being completed within the correct timeframes to meet people’s needs. Medicine information was audited to ensure this was being supported as prescribed. Accident, incidents and safeguarding concerns were recorded and reported on for lessons learned. People were asked for their feedback on their care through telephone calls, face to face meetings and surveys. All this information was used to identify how outcomes could be continuously improved for people.
Consent to care and treatment
People’s consent was sought before care was provided. A relative told us, “Staff are pretty good at always asking his permission before starting personal care or before moving him.”
Staff understood they needed to gain consent from people before they engaged in providing care.
When people first started using the service the manager gained consent from them for their care. People’s views and wishes were taken into account for any care that was planned. People's capacity and ability to consent was considered, and if people had lasting power of attorney in place for health and welfare their advocate were involved in planning, managing and reviewing their care and treatment.