Sublime Care

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 health and social care needs were assessed including communication needs. People and/or their relatives had been consulted about their needs. The provider was working in line with the MCA and staff demonstrated a good understanding of how to put this into practice.

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.

People and/or their relatives were positive about how their care needs had been assessed. They told us they had been consulted before care started. One person told us, “When [family member] came out of hospital the carer arrived same day. Her care plan was sorted a couple of days later – we have a copy in the house.” Most people were positive about the care being delivered met their needs and preferences. One person told us, “The care staff know what they’re doing, and can anticipate [family member’s] needs.” Despite generally positive comments some people did not think their care needs had been reviewed in good time. One person told us, I was involved with [family member’s] care plan, we are supposed to be having an update but nothing has been arranged yet, they have been saying it for ages and [family member’s] needs have changed.” We raised this with the registered manager and they have informed us the review of the care plan was about to be completed.

Staff told us they thought the assessments and care plans contained accurate information about people’s health, care, wellbeing, and communication needs. Staff also told us how they adapted their communication to suit people’s needs and preferences. One member of staff told us, “Some people communicate with gestures and facial expressions. Care staff told care us needs were reviewed and changes made to the care plan where necessary. One member of staff told us, “The care plans are up to date and accurate.”

Some elements of the assessment process were not in line with best practice. Assessment documents were handwritten making some parts difficult to understand. The provider told us they identified this and had stopped handwriting initial assessment documents and risk assessments and were in the process of changing the way they recorded people’s care needs. Some elements of people’s assessments and care plans required greater detail to ensure staff how certain tasks were carried out. For example one person’s care plan stated care staff were responsible for supporting the person to put in leg splints. However, there was no further detail of how this should be done to ensure all staff were able to complete this task correctly. We raised this with the provider and they have put in additional information to help staff understand how to complete this task. People’s oral health needs were assessed and care plans put in place. There was detailed information in place about people’s routines especially for people with limited communication who preferred a consistent routine.

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.

People and their relatives told us the provider ensured they understood and agreed with the care plan and it met their needs and preferences. We received comments such as, “They know what I am like and they know how to look after me and what I need them to do to help me.” People also told us that specific choices such as which staff provided their care was upheld. One person told us, “The carers are male and they do all the personal care, my friend is very happy to have male carers and prefers it that way.”

Staff received Mental Capacity Act (MCA) training and showed a good understanding of how to put this into practice. They told us how they would determine whether people had capacity to consent to their care and treatment and how they supported people to make decisions. One member of staff told us, “The care plan tells us whether people have capacity to make choices about their care. If they don’t we consult with their family members if we need to help people make choices.”

We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). There were policies and procedures in place and staff had received training. The management team and staff monitored people's mental capacity to ensure that they were able to make appropriate decisions and where needed, supported them to do so. If a person lacked capacity to make specific decisions, they would ensure the best interests decision making process was followed, which would include involving relatives, healthcare professionals and a power of attorney when required.