Knightingles Healthcare Bedfordshire Limited

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• 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

As part of this assessment, we looked at 2 quality statements for the key question of effective. These were ‘assessing needs and consent to care and treatment.’ People’s needs, preferences and choices were assessed prior to them receiving support and treatment. The provider carried out an assessment with people and their relatives to ensure they could meet their needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

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 they had been involved in their care from the start of their care package. A relative said, “Right from the beginning we were involved in the care planning and the risk assessments. We have regular reviews and regular contact with the senior staff, so communication is very good, and changes are made quickly if they to be made.”

The management team told us that every care package was carefully considered to ensure a person’s care needs could be met. The provider worked in partnership with healthcare professionals to provide a thorough approach to the assessment process and in planning people’s care. People’s needs, preferences and choices were assessed prior to them receiving care and support. The provider carried out a comprehensive assessment with people and their relatives to ensure they could meet their needs.

People received regular assessments of their needs and their choices were considered to ensure they were provided with the support and treatment they needed and wanted. The assessment tool was detailed and considered people's culture, past experiences, physical, psychological and social needs.

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 relatives confirmed that staff always sought their consent before providing any care tasks. One person said, “They always ask me if they can do something before they do it. They are very polite and mindful of my wishes.”

Staff told us, and records confirmed they received Mental Capacity Act (MCA) training as part of their individual training schedule. The staff demonstrated they fully understood and practiced the MCA principles. One staff member told us, “I have had training around the Mental Capacity Act and I know that we are there to respect people’s choices if they are able to make decisions themselves and to support them if they cannot make an informed decision by following the policies of the Mental Capacity Act.” Another staff member said, “People have choice in their care and their decisions are respected with staff only there to support them. Consent is always sought before people are supported with refusals respected.”

Staff had received training and had a good understanding of the principles of the MCA. The registered manager was aware of the process to follow to make formal decisions in people's best interests if needed.