Comforting Hands Ltd

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. This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them. The provider had not always made sure their needs were reviewed. Thorough assessments were undertaken in conjunction with people and their families before care started. People’s wishes were clearly heard, understood and recorded. Formal care plans reviews had taken place, although these were not always undertaken regularly. This was due to the absence of the administration worker. The provider had made plans for formal care reviews to take place as set out in their policies. Relatives told us the registered manager regularly checked people’s care needs with them and care was provided as they wished. A relative said, “[Registered manager] always rings me and keeps me informed, and checks everything is OK.”

The provider 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. Care plans were person-centred. Every aspect of people’s preferences was recorded. For example, one person had specifically asked for a female staff member. Their relative told us, “[Name of person] asked for a lady to care for her in the morning, and they (provider) have always stuck to that.” A staff member said, “Everything is put in the care plan. We find out everything here on time.”

The provider 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. Systems were in place to ensure people’s care needs were tracked, monitored and recorded. When people needed to go to hospital, the service was able to immediately provide information to support this transition. The provider kept up to date with best practices and legislation.

The provider supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. People’s health and well-being was monitored daily by staff and then reviewed by the registered manager. Appropriate referrals were made, when required, to health partner organisations. The service worked closely with local GP practices, pharmacies and other health providers to support people’s health and wellbeing.

The provider 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. Care plans contained appropriate outcomes for people. These included for people to remain in their own homes during their end-of-life care. The service worked in conjunction with other care providers, for example, local cancer care specialists, to support people’s wishes.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. The service checked and recorded people’s consent and capacity. Where decisions were made in the best interests of people, these were also recorded, along with the person’s preferred decision maker. Staff told us they always asked people for their consent, and relatives confirmed this.