Bloomsbury Home Care – Essex Mid

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 for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

People were involved in the planning and delivery of their care. Before providing care staff sought people’s consent. Where people could not consent to care, a representative was appointed as the agreed decision maker for more complex affairs. People had their needs assessed before care commenced and expressed how they wished their care to be delivered. People were supported to have their nutrition and hydration needs met where required. There were effective approaches to monitor people’s care and treatment and their outcomes.

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.

The provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them. The manager told us, “At the pre-assessment meeting we get to know about people’s strengths, abilities, abilities and aspirations. This information forms the basis of a person’s individual care plan.” Staff had access to real time information relating to people’s care and support needs on the electronic care planning app. A printed copy was also kept in people’s homes. A member of staff told us, “We are usually made aware of any new clients in our communication group app. We are asked to read the person’s care plan, so we are familiar with their care and support needs.”

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them. This meant the things which were important and mattered to them were included in their care. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards. Where people had been identified as at risk of choking or had specialist dietary requirements this was included in their care plan’s so staff knew how to support them safely. One person told us, “They [staff] see I have sugar free biscuits and sugar free jam,” a relative told us “I do the shopping, and they [staff] microwave the meals as [person] likes this and is able to eat independently.” Staff had completed food safety training and where required dysphagia and choking training. Dysphagia is a medical term for difficulty swallowing.

The senior leadership team recognised the need to provide staff with guidance around meal preparation and had put together a very comprehensive written and pictorial recipe guide for staff to support them with meal and drink preparation.

People received support from both Bloomsbury Home Care and their relative/representative to access other health services to support their health and wellbeing. Staff told us they had access to the information they needed to appropriately assess, plan and deliver people’s care, treatment and support. Staff explained how they liaised with other health care professionals when required to.

We requested information from partners however, we received no information in response to our request. The manager maintained records of interactions with health and social care professionals on people’s behalf where required. Any changes to people’s healthcare needs were updated accordingly to record feedback and any actions or advice to be followed.

The service supported people to live healthier lives. People’s records included important information about their health conditions, medicines and guidance for staff on how to support people’s health and wellbeing. Most people and their relatives managed their own health appointments and liaised with health professionals without support from the staff. However, the majority of people told us they were confident staff would seek immediate assistance if they had a medical emergency. Comments included, “They [staff] would ring an ambulance if one of us was poorly,” and “they [staff] contacted my GP when I had flu-they are very, very kind.”

There were effective approaches to monitor people’s care, treatment, and outcomes. People received good outcomes because of the support provided to them.

Staff told us how they monitored people’s wellbeing to achieve the best possible outcomes. A member of staff told us, “People’s behaviour changes with regards to their appetite, sleep patterns, mood swings. Their activeness and participation are closely monitored during care calls to identify for potential concerns. We have process of filling out concern forms and reporting to the office who will further raise concerns with family and external partners. Staff have detailed knowledge of client’s health needs via accessible care plans in the app”.

Care plans were reviewed regularly as part of the manager’s quality assurances processes. People and/or their representatives were involved in care reviews to ensure continuous improvements were made to people’s care and treatment when required.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control over 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. People and relatives told us, “I have a care plan and staff always ask what I want before doing anything-they never rush me and are very caring,” and “They [staff] ask [person’s] consent and listen to this.”

Staff had received training around the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and were able to describe how they apply this in their day-to-day practice. One member of staff told us, “Training helps me understand our clients’ needs and choices and help them maintain the lifestyle they wish to live. MCA is a law that helps protect people who lack decision making capacity.”

People's capacity and ability to consent were taken into account, and they, or a person lawfully acting on their behalf, were involved in planning, managing and reviewing their care and treatment.