Careline Homecare (Newcastle)

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. At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this,

This service scored 62 (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, well-being and communication 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. Staff used a range of assessment tools to assess and monitor people's care needs, health and medical conditions and well-being. However, care plans were either not all in place for each identified need or they needed more guidance on how to meet those needs so all staff could provide care in a consistent way. Some peoples’ comments included, “Sometimes I feel that the new ones [staff] do not have enough information about me. I don’t actually know how they would find it, but I do feel they do not always know anything about me when they come in new”, “My relative was involved with setting up [Name]’s care plan and it is followed well by the regular carers. It is when they are away, and we get new ones that it all goes haywire” and “The new carers don’t even look at the list to see what needs doing.” We discussed this with the registered manager who told us relevant staff were to receive care plan training on the electronic system.

The service planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. People were supported with their nutrition and hydration where required. A person told us, “Staff do meals that I like for breakfast and my evening meal.” Another person commented, “They [staff] do meals for me, I tell them what I want and that is what I get.” However, where support was required with people’s nutrition some improvements were needed to ensure where people were at risk of malnutrition or dehydration, this was monitored and reflected in people’s care records. Records such as staff daily visit notes required more information to document any staff intervention with a person. For example, what the person had been offered or declined to eat to monitor their nutrition and hydration. Care plans required more information about people’s nutritional needs with guidance for staff about how people were to be supported.

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. Referrals were made to relevant specialists to obtain assessments and support for any additional care and treatment needs people may have. Staff followed the advice and guidance provided to ensure people's changing needs were met. A professional commented, “Staff help with any queries and work with me to provide a fantastic service to a very complex individual.”

The service supported people to manage their health and well-being to maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. People told us they were supported to access health care. Their comments included, “[Name] would ring the doctor, and the district nurse is coming”, “Staff ask me if they should call the doctor for me” and “Staff would ring the doctor but if it is non urgent they would say do you want to ring the doctor or would you like me to ring for you.”

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. People’s needs were assessed prior to using the service and were reviewed on an annual basis or as their needs changed. A relative commented, “Management are always helpful and any minor adjustments to [Name]’s care are always dealt with efficiently and in a professional way.” Staff worked to mitigate any identified risks, however, risk assessments and care plans, that contained information on the actions staff needed to take to keep people safe, needed more regular evaluation to monitor people’s well-being and identify any new risk and reflect people’s changing needs. The registered manager told us the care planning system was being reviewed.

The service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. The management team carried out assessments, around people’s mental capacity and care records contained all relevant information and were documented in line with guidance.