St Brannocks

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 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.

People and those involved in their care took part in assessments and reviews. Their views and opinions were respected, listened to and implemented as part of the day-to-day support. We saw that each person had comprehensive and thorough assessments that informed their support plans, including clear information on how people communicated. Staff understood and met people’s communication needs, including when people did not communicate well verbally.

People’s support plans were meaningful and focused on what was important to them. A professional told us, “[Person] is personally involved [in planning their care] and signs the document.” A person told us, “I go through my care plan every 3 months.”

People’s past history and exposure to trauma was considered in all of their care planning. There was a trauma informed approach to understanding people’s needs throughout assessment and review. Staff kept clear, comprehensive care records to support reviews and evidence of appropriate action taken in response to changes noted.

The provider 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.

The provider used evidence-based support frameworks to underpin the support people received from staff. Training in understanding people’s distress and physical interventions was accredited according to the British Institute of Learning Disabilities Training Standards. Staff told us this training helped them to feel more confident when supporting people. One support worker told us, “[The framework] is very effective in most situations, and really makes sure that staff remember the person at the heart.” We saw that one person, who had not spoken at all when they moved into St Brannocks, was now able to communicate well verbally after a comprehensive communication support plan was put in place, with appropriate advice and guidance from professionals.

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met standards and the expectations of people themselves.

People’s skills, life experience and strengths were discussed with them and those involved in their care, to consider how people’s goals, ambitions and outcomes were planned and achieved. We observed staff supporting people to learn new skills, and people told us how important this was to them. One person said, “I have a cooking session each week where I learn a new meal. I learned to make cottage pie. I look forward to it every week.”

People’s support was delivered consistently by staff, in a person-centred way that was specific to their needs. For example, we observed staff consistently follow guidelines to ensure they could respond safely to a person’s distress. They communicated well with the person to avert situations that had the potential to escalate.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

People made their own choices and decision on a day-to-day basis about what they did, what they ate and how they filled their time. People told us, “I can choose what I have to eat. If I don’t like something, I can have something else. I can choose what clothes I wear”, and “I can choose what to do, they ask permission before they do anything with me.” A professional told us, “Choice of food and drink allowed 100%. [The person] gets what they want.”

The provider had considered the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and ensured staff and the management team worked within these. People’s support records contained a number of assessments of people’s capacity to understand and make decisions about various aspects of their lives. Where people were assessed as not having capacity, staff worked with them to empower them to make the choices they could, and best interests decisions were recorded where necessary.

Staff communicated with people about their choices using objects of reference and Makaton where this was necessary. This enabled people who didn’t communicate well verbally to tell staff how they wanted to spend their day.