Durham Street

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

People were involved in decisions about their care. Assessments were up to date and reflected people’s current needs. Consent was always sought for care and treatment and the provider acted in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People had their communication needs assessed to enable them to receive care and treatment with good outcomes. People were supported to transition into the service safely and were involved in the assessment process to ensure continuity of care.

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 told us they were involved with their assessments. Comments from relatives included “I am always involved with care planning”, and “We had an initial meeting with the manager to agree what [Person’s name] needs were.”

Staff told us they used different forms of communication to engage with people, including Makaton and picture cards. The manager told us a multi-disciplinary team along with family would be involved in the assessment of people’s needs.

People were involved in the assessment of their needs. Communication needs were assessed to enable them to receive care and treatment that has good outcomes, and their care needs were routinely reviewed.

People told us other professionals are involved in their care and everyone always includes them.

The manager told us they support staff stay up to date with current legislation and training. Staff told us they are up to date with mandatory training and can complete other training to support people in the service.

People’s care and treatment was relevant to them, and good practice guidance was reflected in their support plan. Monitoring forms for food and fluids were in place and were supported by good practice guidelines.

People told us they went to see their optician, the GP and community nurses to support them to stay well. A relative said, “The paramedic wrote [Person’s name] a prescription and the staff went and got it ASAP, they are very good.”

The manager told us they have good multi-disciplinary team working and always acted on recommendations from other professionals. Staff told us they have received recommendations from the Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) and they printed a communication sheet off and gave it to other staff so they could support the person during this change in their care.

A visiting professional told us “Staff always work with me and follow recommendations so we can get the best outcomes for people.”

People’s care records reflected MDT working. People were supported to transition into the service safely and everyone was involved in the assessment of their care to maintain continuity of care.

People told us they were supported to stay healthy. One person said, “Staff support me to make healthy choices when we do my menu,” another person said, “The staff make sure the doctor comes to see me if I need him.”

Staff supported people to live healthier lives, a staff member said, “[Person’s name] enjoys a packet of crisps so we try to encourage him to have the low calorie alternative so they are not missing out.”

People were involved in reviewing their health care needs with staff and other health professionals. Health passports were informative with up to date information relating to people’s needs.

People and their relatives told us staff look after people well and outcomes have improved. A relative said, “The staff are very good, there are lots of stimulating conversations and interactions with them, [Person’s name] has come on leaps and bounds.”

Staff told us they monitor people’s physical health and record and report any changes. The manger told us they review feedback from people and their families to monitor and improve outcomes for people who live there.

People’s care was regularly monitored and reviewed to make continuous improvements to their outcomes. This was evidenced through audits with action plans in place. Multi-disciplinary teams along with people and their families were involved in reviewing care. Yearly progress reports were completed.

People told us their views and wishes were taken into account when planning care and were involved in reviewing their care and treatment.

Staff acted within the legal framework of the mental capacity act 2005. A staff member said, "We are all capable of making our own decisions, however some people might find this difficult so we would have a best interest decision meeting."

Capacity and best interest decisions were clearly recorded for people who were assessed as lacking capacity. Staff had completed training in MCA (2005).