Hawkhurst House

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 told us they were always asked before staff supported them with any tasks. Consent was clearly documented within people's care plans. Staff were observed seeking people's consent prior to any care or support tasks. People's care needs were assessed prior to them moving into the service to ensure staff were trained and able to meet any specific needs. People and their relatives had been involved in the development and review of their care plans. Care records were reviewed and updated if necessary monthly. Nurses used recognised tools to support their assessments, for example, for pain, nutrition or skin integrity. Staff followed detailed health care plans to ensure people remained as healthy as possible. People were able to access a wide range of healthcare professionals when they needed to.

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 and their relatives were involved within their initial assessment to ensure the service was able to meet their needs.

Before moving into the service people's needs were assessed either in their own homes, in hospital or another establishment. These visits were made by the deputy manager and enabled the service to ensure they could meet their specific needs before accepting them into the service.

Staff carried out people's initial assessments and used the outcomes to formulate individualised care plans. This process involved the person and their relatives, where relevant. Everyone had a baseline recording of their physical health such as temperature, pulse, blood pressure and oxygen saturation. This enabled staff to quickly recognise signs of deterioration in their health.

People told us nurses would see them if they were feeling unwell or if they had any health-related questions.

Nurses were knowledgeable and responsive to people's needs. Nurses were supported by and clinically supervised by the deputy manager who was also a registered nurse.

The provider used recognised tools to support their assessments, for example, Waterlow score for risks of skin damage or MUST for assessing nutritional needs. NEWS is the National Early Warning Score which was used to monitor people's health. It was developed to improve the detection and response to clinical deterioration in people. People with specific health care needs had detailed plans in place, based around recognised best practice, for example, people living with diabetes or epilepsy.

People told us they felt the staff were well trained and they were supported to seek medical support if they needed it. Comments from people included, "I had a chest infection and the doctor treated it", "I would just ask to speak to the nurse" and "I was unwell recently and they got a doctor to see me."

The registered manager and the staff had a good working relationship with healthcare professionals and local authority staff.

A variety of external professionals visited the service on a regular basis to provide input into people's care and support. Feedback from external professionals was very positive about the working relationships with the management team, registered nurses and care staff at Hawkhurst House. Professionals told us staff were well trained, knowledgeable about the people they were supporting and were responsive to their needs.

People were supported to maintain a nutritious diet. People told us they met the chef regularly and that the food was always prepared with fresh and good quality ingredients. Comments from people about the food included, "There is a lot of choice and I have opted for a Vegetarian meal. They come and ask you on the day" and, "Lovely. They know what we like. It's all cooked here, fresh stuff. You get different foods and plenty to eat. They will ask me if I want to go to the dining room."

Staff were trained to meet people's needs including their specialist needs. Nurses were supported and clinically supervised by the deputy manager who was also a registered nurse.

People had very detailed health care plans which provided staff with information about common complications, such as high or low blood sugar levels for people living with diabetes. Epilepsy care plans were detailed and included personalised triggers, and how that person would present if they were to have a seizure and actions for staff to take. The doctor visited three times a week and people told us staff arranged for them to see the doctor if they felt unwell or needed their medications reviewed. People were supported to see other healthcare professionals such as, chiropodist, podiatrists, dieticians or opticians.

Relatives told us they were involved in care reviews and staff always contacted them if there were any concerns, incidents or accidents. People told us staff supported them to live their lives according to their wishes and they were free to choose how to live their lives and how they spent their time. People had personal goals detailed in their care plans which were monitored during regular reviews.

Assessments and care plans were reviewed at least monthly. The registered manager monitored this process to ensure people were not missed and everyone had a care review. Clinical measures were reviewed during clinical meetings and outcomes were monitored against best practice guidelines, for example wound healing and weight management.

There were provisions in place to support people who were living with dementia. Staff were very patient with people and understood their individual communication needs. Staff were seen reassuring people who may otherwise become distressed.

People told us they were always asked before staff supported them with any tasks.

We observed staff knocking before entering people's rooms and asking before offering care and support.

The provider worked within the Mental Capacity Act and people had decision specific capacity assessments in place. Consent was clearly documented in the care plan documents. Where necessary the deputy manager had made Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) applications when a person needed to be deprived of their liberty and there were processes in place to ensure these were kept up to date and any conditions were adhered to.