Bank House Care Home

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 supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff supervisions and appraisals took place and staff received enough training to support them in their roles. People were supported to maintain good nutrition, hydration and health.

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.

People who lived at the home and their relatives told us they were involved in the initial assessment process when they first moved in to the home. This provided them with the opportunity to state how they wanted their care to be delivered.

Reviews of people's care were ongoing and done in conjunction with people's changing needs. These involved both people living at the home and their relatives.

Initial assessment forms were available in people's care plans, which provided details about how they needed their care to be delivered.

People living at the home told us they enjoyed the food. One person said, “The food is good you can get anything you want.” A relative added, "The food, you get what comes but if you don't want something then the chef will offer them something else.” Staff were aware about how to deliver support based on good practice. They said this was done through online training, reading people's care plans and through policies and procedures. Relevant policies and procedures were in place. All staff had access to the policies and were asked to refer to them if any updates have been received. The registered manager said they spoke with relevant professionals to ensure compliance with good practice / legislation. Recommended guidance from specialist teams was also incorporated into staff learning, for example, nutritional guidance from SALTs and dieticians.

People we spoke with felt staff understood their needs and supported them well. They were confident they would seek additional support, ie GP, hospital, if this was needed. People felt their needs were well met.

We found evidence of the staff team working closely with other agencies. For example when making referrals to the falls service, dieticians and SaLT if there were concerns about people's care. People's care plans were then updated accordingly.

Recent social worker reviews had taken place and people were invited to be involved in this process.

There were processes in place to act on the guidance and advice from other agencies. For example, using specialist equipment or making changes to a person's diet so it was easier for them to eat.

Relevant healthcare support was made available to help people maintain their health and well-being. Access to relevant heath care support was in place and relevant referrals were made where people’s needs had changed. People and their relatives spoke positively about the introduction of activities both in and away from the home. We were told people were more stimulated and engaged.

We asked staff how they supported people to maintain their health and well-being. One member of staff said, "District nurses visit and its easy to refer to them. We ring the local area district nurse team. Other health professionals, such as physio and OT can also be involved."

People’s individual health care needs are identified during the initial assessment process and included with the care plan/risk assessments. The electronic care planning system included all health care needs identified such as nutritional needs including SALTS and dieticians info, weight monitoring, oral healthcare, mobility and skin integrity Additional monitoring records, such as repositioning, food and fluid, skin integrity (all), weights, observation – line of sight, were completed so that people’s changing needs could identified and responded to. Daily tasks were set for staff to complete and sign off, Additional monitoring records are completed so that people’s changing needs could be identified and responded to. Where risks or additional needs identified then referrals are made to the relevant agencies

Audits of the PCS system completed each month as well as routine monitoring of people’s care and treatment completed to ensure changing needs are met. Resident of the day has been introduced. This involved all departments, kitchen, maintenance, activities, care, medication etc. This helps to seek feedback from people and identify if people’s needs and preferences are met. Manager daily walk around completed to monitor people and the environment. Any actions identified are shared in the daily handovers.

Audit and review of PCS system are completed. This included care plans, risk assessments, monitoring records. Staff also completed training in this area. Further governance systems needed to be embedded to further evidence effective monitoring of the service and help drive improvements.

People told us and we saw that consent was sought before carrying out care tasks. People told us staff respected their wishes in relation to managing their own care as much as possible. Relatives told us they had been involved in discussions where decisions needed to be made on behalf of their relative. One person said, “Great set of girls they look after me well, but I like to look after myself. I get myself up and dressed but they do everything for me that I need them to.”

Staff understood about how to seek consent from people and knew about the requirements of the MCA and when DoLS applications were required.

People had signed consent forms regarding their care. We saw evidence MCA assessments were completed as necessary, with DoLS applications sent to the local authority when needed.