Aucklands Care in Bournemouth, Dorset, a residential home for adults with sensory impairments, dementia, learning disabilities and mental health conditions, was rated outstanding for being effective and caring following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), 5 & 8 January 2018.
It achieved the score of good for the safe, responsive and well-led categories.
The CQC report highlighted that Aucklands Care provides a small, highly effective service for people living with dementia. Part of the home's success is due to the provider ensuring staff were trained to a high standard using a recognised dementia care training package that understands people's behaviours, including the way they communicate, as having meaning.
The provider also maintained staffing levels that allowed staff to devote time with residents and provided good leadership that allowed this model of care to be delivered effectively. Staff were provided with specialist training in other conditions affected by people such as epilepsy and mental health to ensure people's needs were met that enabled them to deliver care in line with best practice.
Both professionals and relatives were very positive about the effectiveness of the staff in supporting good outcomes for residents. A relative said, "It is brilliant here, I can't praise them enough." A health and social care professional said, "I don't know of anywhere else that could have supported my client as they have done here, for this person the home has been outstanding."
Before an admission was agreed, a senior member of staff carried out a preadmission assessment of a person's needs to make sure they could be met. A health and social care professional to the CQC about a resident with very complex needs. The home's assessor had spent hours observing and working with the hospital team, as well as attending discharge meetings, to make sure that a plan was in place to support the person both safely and effectively. This person was able to move into the home and offered they appropriate support to meet their needs.
Training was also very important at Aucklands and new members of staff received a seven-day classroom taught induction provided by an external training organisation. As well as the Care Certificate, the industry standard for inducting new staff.