Caremark Hounslow

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. The last rating for this key question was good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

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.

The staff were kind, caring and polite. People and their relatives told us they felt well cared for and had good relationships with staff. Their comments included, “[Carer] is brilliant”, “The staff we have at the moment are really great”, “[Care worker] is a wonderful human being” and “[Carer] is lovely, friendly and respectful.” Staff spoke about people in a respectful way and explained they had training and information about privacy and dignity. One staff member explained, “We need to be calm and treat people with dignity.” Another member of staff told us. “We approach people and ask if they are ok. We need to be kind and polite. We need to respect their preferences.”

The provider made sure people were treated as individuals. Staff worked with people to develop trust and build a good rapport. The registered manager told us about a person who was resistant to care, was neglecting their wellbeing and was isolated from their community. The assessment process had involved the person, was gradual and staff respected their perspective regarding care. The registered manager explained that through this approach the person had gained confidence with the service and had started to look forward to visits from care staff. The staff had started to do more with the person and at the time of our assessment they had supported them to attend places of worship, widen their social circle and improve their physical and emotional wellbeing.

People and their relatives confirmed they were treated as individuals and that their homes and lifestyles were respected. One person commented, “They are all nice girls and treat me well. Recently they brought me a Mothers’ Day present which was very nice.”

People’s cultural and religious needs were recorded and people told us these were respected. Their comments included, “The girls speak [person’s language] and this ensures [person] can speak with them” and “The carers understand our culture and respect this.”

Many of the staff we spoke with explained they could speak multiple languages, and the registered manager told us they matched care workers with people to help enhance communication. Some people did not use words to communicate, and staff used a variety of different methods to help make sure they could understand people and be understood. Comments from staff included, “Communication is important. We speak with [person’s] family to help us get to know how to communicate”, “A lot of us speak different languages and it is nice to help make sure we understand what people want. The customers can make informed decisions when we explain things in their language” and “We use gestures and show people objects to help them understand and make choices.”

The provider supported people to make choices. They involved them in decisions about their care and regularly asked for their views and opinions. People’s views were incorporated into care plans and staff explained they understood choices needed to be offered at all care visits.

Staff supported people to develop skills and be independent when they were able. One relative told us, “[Staff] encourage [person] to be a bit more independent and to walk around each visit.” Some people were being cared for following hospital admissions or accidents. The registered manager explained they encouraged people to be independent, regain confidence and recover when possible.

The provider supported some children and young people. Some children had difficulty settling at school and within social settings. The staff were able to give examples of work they had undertaken to support individuals to develop their skills and try structured activities. For example, staff supporting 1 child had introduced basic numeracy and literacy skills at their home. They had worked together to develop these skills with positive outcomes for the young person.

Relatives told us the staff supported people with a range of different activities, offering them choices and helping them to try new things.

The staff responded to people’s immediate needs. Records showed they had alerted healthcare professionals and, when needed, contacted emergency services, when people’s health had declined or following incidents and accidents. Relatives confirmed this. One relative told us, “The other week there was a [medical incident]. The staff contacted the district nurse and told us, and this meant the problem could be sorted out.” Staff explained they had training and information about how to respond when people became agitated to distressed. Comments from staff included, “If a person is agitated, I look to see if there is an underlying physical cause, like an infection. We get in touch with a GP or others if needed”, “We always speak with the families. Care plans are clear if there are triggers for someone becoming emotional. We monitor these and make sure we work consistently” and “I once found a person had fallen when I arrived for a visit. I gave them immediate support to comfort them and called for an ambulance. I waited for the ambulance crew to arrive.”

The provider had introduced various initiatives to support staff wellbeing. These included 'carer of the month' awards, an annual award ceremony and seasonal parties. They sourced an external helpline offering free confidential advice for staff about work and non-work-related issues.

The provider had introduced a new electronic application which provided staff with a range of information about their roles, responsibilities and updates about the service. They could also use this to access the staff handbook and online training courses.

All staff took part in regular team and individual (supervision) meetings with managers to discuss their work and wellbeing. Staff told us they felt supported. Their comments included, “I feel well supported”, “I had a period of [extended leave off work] and when I came back, they were so supportive and flexible with my hours”, “There is a positive atmosphere. Colleagues and managers are good and cooperative” and “Even though I am fairly new, I feel very supported at work and proud of what I do. The team are helpful.”