- Homecare service
Rhesus Care Ltd
Report from 20 November 2024 assessment
Contents
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
People’s needs and rights were supported. People’s care and treatment was assessed with them, although care records lacked some detail. Staff were aware of people’s preferences. People were aware of their rights around care and treatment. Staff had some knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA).
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.
Assessing needs
People were involved in planning their care. A relative told us they were involved with planning their family members care and they had a copy of the care plan and access to daily care notes. They told us the management team was in regular contact to ensure care was being provided as required.
Staff knew how to access people’s care records. Staff we spoke with understood people’s needs well and supported the same person consistently. The management team told us some healthcare professionals had been involved with people’s care previously, and they knew how to access specialists’ support if this was needed.
Care plans documented people’s risks and needs, however the information and guidance provided for staff were not always clear. This included a lack of clear guidance on supporting 1 person to transfer safely or support them with repositioning whilst in their bed. There were some inconsistencies between people’s care plans and risk assessments. For example, some people’s risk assessments had not been updated to reflect changes in care needs referred to in their care plans. This meant staff do not have all the up-to-date information to guide them on how to best support a person.
Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
People and relatives, we spoke to were very happy with the care and support they received. A relative we spoke with told us they had positive relationships with staff, and they felt confident staff supported their family member in line with their wishes.
The management team told us they understood the importance of best practice guidance and the impact poor practice had on people. Staff told us how they worked effectively with the person and their family to ensure they received the best care. The management team told us they understood the importance of working with healthcare professionals to ensure people received the best possible care and support.
Regular reviews took place with people and their family members to ensure any changes in people’s care were formally discussed. However, care plan documentation was not always updated in a timely way, to ensure the changes would be fully implemented and in place to guide and inform staff. This meant there was a risk of care not being provided as required.
How staff, teams and services work together
A relative told us their family member were supported consistently, by the same staff, who communicated well with them about their family members care needs.
Staff told us they were provided with all the information they needed to support people safely and they ensured they listened to the requests and wishes communicated by people and their family members.
We received no feedback from partners.
The management team had processes in place to support effective working between staff and good collaboration with external services and professionals involved in people’s care. They told us as the service developed and grew, they would continue to improve their systems. They told us learning from our assessment would be implemented, and they understood the importance of working effectively with other teams.
Supporting people to live healthier lives
People and their relatives told us staff recognised changes to their health needs and supported them to gain access to healthcare professionals if needed.
Staff understood people’s needs and how to support them to access health and social care support if needed. Staff told us they recorded people’s daily wellbeing at each care call, so their wellbeing could be monitored. The registered manager told us they understood the process for referring to external agencies such as occupational therapists and district nursing services.
People’s care records had limited information about their healthcare needs and how these would be met. This meant there was the potential to miss early warning signs and there would be an increased risk of deterioration. Following our feedback the management team told us they would ensure records regarding people’s health and wellbeing were more detailed.
Monitoring and improving outcomes
People and relatives told us staff respected their right to privacy and independence.
Staff understood the impact they had in achieving positive outcomes for the people they supported. They told us they recognised a person’s individuality, and they worked with the person and their family members, so they received the best care.
There were some processes in place to enable the management team to have oversight of people’s care and support. However, our assessment identified that care plans and risk assessments were not always robust, and this meant staff may not have all the information needed to support people effectively. As the service was currently only supporting a small number of people, and there was consistent staffing in place who knew people well, there had not been any impact as a result of these concerns. The management team were committed to ensuring effective approaches to monitoring people’s care were implemented.
Consent to care and treatment
People and relatives told us staff always gained consent before providing support. A relative told us, “The staff are very good and always talk to [Person’s name] and explain what they are doing.”
Staff told us they ensured consent to care was always sought. A staff member told us, “I always explain clearly and make sure the person understands. I never rush their care, and I listen to their response and respect their choices and preferences.”
People’s rights were respected. The management team told us they understood the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and how to support people deemed to lack capacity to make decisions about their care and treatment. When people receiving care and treatment in their homes are deemed to be derived of their liberty, an application must be made to the Court of Protection for them to authorise this deprivation of liberty. At the time of this assessment no one was being deprived of their liberty. People’s mental capacity was assessed in line with the MCA.