Heather Holmes 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

The provider ensured that care plans were in place detailing how people’s assessed needs are met. People’s support needs were assessed and reviewed on a regular basis, which helped to ensure their needs continued to be met. Care plans and risk assessments were individual for each person and included their support in relation to a range of daily living skills and support areas. Staff were aware of the importance of asking for consent before supporting people and respecting their wishes. Where people did not have the mental capacity to make decisions, the provider had assessed this, worked with people's representatives to make decisions in their best interests and obtained authorisations for any restrictions. We did not assess all the quality statements within this key question as we did not identify concerns relating to these areas at our last inspection or since then.

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, their relative’s and health professionals were consulted with when people’s needs were assessed. We saw that staff knew people's needs and preferences well and that relatives had been involved in care planning and assessment. One person told us of a particular area of challenge with their relative's care needs in relation to personal care when they moved to Heather Holmes. They told us “They did go the extra mile for my relative. The staff are well trained and skilled”. However, one person told us they had not been involved or seen care planning, but the home seemed to know a lot about what their relative liked and disliked.

Staff understood people’s needs and supported people with reviews and reassessments when required. They told us they met with people before they moved to the service and spent time with them to get to know them and assess their needs.

The manager of the service described to us the process of assessing people effectively before they moved into the service, to ensure they could meet their specific needs. They stated that information about the person was gathered from people relevant in the person’s life, such as family, health professionals and the person themself. This information was then pulled together to develop a person-centred care plan to guide staff on how to support the person effectively, and to achieve any specific goals and outcomes they may have. Staff completed daily care records which showed how they provided care and support in line with people’s assessed needs and care plans. The manager regularly reviewed care records to ensure they continued to meet people’s changing needs and preferences. We saw the new care record system and training plans to support this improvement. We saw evidence that people had yearly health checks which helps to reduce the inequalities in healthcare which people with learning disabilities are at risk of.

We did not look at Delivering evidence-based care and treatment during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at How staff, teams and services work together during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at Supporting people to live healthier lives during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at Monitoring and improving outcomes during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We observed staff supporting people safely and ensuring consent was received before any support took place. We observed staff ask people for their permission before carrying out tasks to support them. People were seen to be comfortable and relaxed when having their needs attended to.

Staff understood the Mental Capacity Act and ensured that people were asked to consent and offered choice before care was provided. The manager told us, "We're always looking at least restrictive practices”

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) provides a legal framework for making decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. The Act requires that, as far as possible, people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. When they lack mental capacity to take decisions, any made on their behalf must be in their best interests and as least restrictive as possible. People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment when this is in their best interests and legally authorised under the MCA. In care homes, and some hospitals, this is usually through MCA application procedures called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). We found the service was working within the principles of the MCA and if needed, appropriate legal authorisations were in place to deprive a person of their liberty. Any conditions related to DoLS authorisations were being met. Mental capacity assessments were completed, and best interest decisions made with the involvement of relevant others, when needed.