Azalea 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

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 a comprehensive 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 79 (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 carried out detailed assessments on people's needs and choices to ensure they were providing people with the best support and treatment they needed. For example, one person was known to collect items and store them. Staff were working with them to recycle items, reducing the items they stored in their room. One person who had moved to the service recently told us that their move had gone well, and they had felt very well supported by the staff. They said, “When I came here, I was a bit nervous, but the staff were very helpful at helping me to settle in and feel at home. I was lucky to get a place here.”

The registered manager told us that every placement was carefully considered. All necessary information was gathered before a placement started, such as risk assessments whilst being detained under the mental health act. Then they completed a compatibility tool and discussed with the staff team if they could go ahead and complete an assessment and also agree that the placement was compatible without any negative impact on existing people using the service. The registered manager told us, “The actual assessment may differ depending on the response of the individual, their needs, risk and where they are currently residing. I may send photos of the project and videos for example; I've done remote video tours and had translators depending on a person’s needs. I complete an assessment form; this may take several visits. We then set up visits to the project so that the individual can make an informed choice about wanting to stay at Azalea House. We sometimes do a transitional period that includes a stay over. Everyone has the choice to give notice at any point if they feel the project isn’t for them.”

People were assessed in a very person-centred way to reduce any anxieties and to make sure people felt empowered and listened to. A robust assessment was completed of a person’s needs before they moved to the service and a transition plan put in pace that may include visits to the service and overnight stays. The assessment tool was comprehensive and considered people's culture, past experiences, physical, psychological and social needs. Accommodation was shared with others and the assessment process made sure people were compatible to live together.

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 living at the service all had full capacity to make choices about their lifestyle. One person told us, “The staff respect my decisions. They don’t always agree with me, but they do respect me.”

Staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and told us they always asked people for consent before they undertook any task and always respected people’s decisions. One staff member said, “Everyone has capacity, and we respect the decisions they make.”

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.