De Bruce Court

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’s needs were assessed and continually reviewed. Staff worked together and with other health professionals to ensure people received the care and support they needed. Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act and sought consent from people. People accessed support of an advocate when needed. An advocate said, “They (people) are empowered with choices.”

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 the staff knew them well and knew how to assess their needs. They said they could speak to staff if something changed, and staff responded to those requests.

Staff and the manager had a good awareness of people’s care and support needs. Staff told us they had read and understood people’s care plans and risk assessments.

An up-to-date admission policy was in place. An assessment of people's individual needs was completed before they were accepted into the service. Care plans were produced in line with each person’s requirement support. People were able to visit before being safely admitted into the service.

People told us they were involved in their care planning. We received some mixed views from relatives about their involvement in people's care but records did not confirm this.

Staff used recognised tools to help them deliver evidenced based care. This included a waterlow assessment to assess skin integrity and the risk of people developing skin damage.

Staff and management were aware of the importance of using recognised tools to help them deliver evidence-based care. This was confirmed by staff and observations. For example, one person had been referred to the Speech and Language Therapy Team (SALT) and this information was included in care plans and kitchen records to support staff and ensure the person's dietary needs were met.

People said staff worked well together and with other healthcare professionals. One person said, "If I wanted help, they would get it. They do listen to me. Never had any delays in treatment at all."

Staff worked well together as a team and also with other external healthcare professionals. One staff member said, "We have regular multi-disciplinary meetings to discuss people and the best way forward. It works very well."

External healthcare professionals told us they had seen improvements in the running of the home, including better engagement with people in terms of activities and respecting their wishes.

Care and service records, including handovers and staff meetings, evidenced good communication between staff teams and other healthcare professionals. Good outcomes for people had been achieved due to joint working and good professional relationships.

People were supported to maintain healthier lives. One person said, “I am losing weight at the moment because I need to get some of this fat off. They (staff) are helping me to stick to healthy options.”

Staff took action to support people to live healthier lives. One staff member said, "Yesterday (Person) felt better, but today they are not having a good day, so we are closely monitoring them."

Processes were in place to ensure staff supported people to remain as healthy as possible. Any deterioration was acted upon immediately and this included via observations by staff or by review of care records.

People achieved good outcomes. One relative said, "Within 6 months of being at De Bruce Court, they (staff) were reducing negatives and were more positive outcomes."

Staff strove to achieve positive outcomes for people. One staff member explained one person was moving to supported living after a massive improvement in their behaviours which challenged. They had been able to do this because of the joint working with other healthcare professionals and the dedicated work of their staff team.

Processes were in place to monitor and improve outcomes for people. For example, regular reviews took place with people.

People were asked for their consent and their decisions were listened to. We observed this taking place throughout our visit.

Staff supported people with person centred care and ensured consent was obtained. Some people were not able to make decisions and advocates were involved to support them. An advocate is someone who represents and acts as the voice for a person, while supporting them to make informed decisions.

Processes were in place to monitor consent and ensure care was delivered in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Capacity assessments had been carried out when needed and best interest decisions had been made where required. People's recorded wishes were documented, including those who had emergency health care plans in place. When necessary, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) had been applied for and had either been authorised or were waiting assessment.