The Ark Care Lodge Limited

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 inspection we rated this key question requires improvement. At this inspection the rating has changed to 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 service made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, well being 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. Communication tools were tailored to each individual to enable them to express their views, wishes and to make decisions. For example, we observed staff using a form of Makaton (sign language) to communicate with a person and speaking with people in their first language.

The service 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. For example, staff followed best interest processes and guidance from health professionals where a person required a modified diet to prevent the risk of choking. People were actively involved in and enjoyed preparing their meals which promoted their independence and gave them a sense of feeling valued. A person told us, “I am helping to prepare and cook the meal for everyone. It’s my favourite meal and I enjoy doing this.”

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. The service worked with external professionals when people moved into the service, ensuring a detailed pre-assessment was completed. Staff described effective teamworking and communication which helped consistency in care and approach for people, including partnership working with health care professionals and relatives.

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. Staff supported people to access routine and specialist healthcare. Care plans included detailed information about people’s healthcare needs and how these were met. A relative described how the range of activities their family member participated in supported their well being and helped them feel more settled emotionally.

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. For example, a person’s care plan provided detailed information to enable staff to recognise and respond to any deterioration in the person’s well being to avoid a potential health crisis.

The service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. People’s care plans included detailed information about how people made decisions and choices. Where people lacked capacity around specific decisions, the service had assessed people’s capacity in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005, following best interest processes. We observed many examples of people making choices and decisions during our site visits which were respected and acted on by staff. These included people’s decisions to go out into the community, where people wanted to spend their time and when they wanted care and support. A person’s care plan included a specific decision they had made around night-time well being checks and staff confirmed they respected this choice.