Archived: Kind Hearts Care Company Ltd

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 provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last assessment we rated this key question 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 provider always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People told us they were treated with kindness, compassion and dignity. Their comments included, “They are nice to me, I would say pretty quick if they weren’t”, “They walk my dog for me as well. They seem to like coming here, they have a chat to me and a laugh”, and “They are lovely and smiling and kind.” Relatives agreed and added, “[Family member] likes them, [they] think [care workers] are great”, “The carers are very sweet with [family member], very kind” and “[Care workers] do all the care, but they sing to [family member], chat away and make [them] laugh which is invaluable really.”

The registered manager told us they ensured people were always treated with kindness and compassion. They said, “Right from the word go, the interview process shows the quality we look for in staff. We have a great team, and they have a lot of fun with people. People enjoy the companionship element. We have tailor-made care plans stating what people like and dislike.”

The registered manager added that by having regular conversations and reviews with people, they could identify any concerns and deal with these promptly. They told us, “It is discussed in care reviews with people, so we know if there are any problems with them. Care reviews are led by the service user’s preference. It can be monthly or 2 or 3 monthly at the very minimum."

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Care plans detailed people’s wishes and preferences, and we saw evidence that the staff knew and respected these. The management and care staff were dedicated to ensuring people’s needs were met and often went above and beyond to ensure this. For example, one person lived with anxiety, which meant they would often call the office needing reassurance. The registered manager told us, “If there isn't a carer available someone from the office will go out (this has on occasions been in the middle of the night), [Person] sometimes just wants some spoken reassurance from us which we do on the phone call. This gives [them] more confidence and makes [them] feel much safer knowing we are not far, and [they] can call us when [they] need to.”

The registered manager and staff knew people’s individual needs and were committed to ensuring they were treated as individuals.This included their faith and sexuality. The registered manager told us, “I have a very good relationship with people and feel if they were unhappy about something, they would be able to tell me.”

People’s birthdays were celebrated. The registered manager told us, “Staff take a present or/and a card or anything they might like. For example, flowers for the ladies and cakes for the men, unless they are into something else such as one person who was into gardening."

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People’s choices and independence were encouraged and promoted. Their personal, cultural, social and religious needs were understood and respected. These were sought during the initial assessment and recorded in their care plans.

People’s aspirations were identified and respected. People’s care plans included their background, preferred activities and what made them happy and fulfilled. For example, they had worked with a person and their relative to organise an outing to the theatre as this was the person’s wish. With careful planning, the experience had been a success and had promoted the person’s independence and improved their wellbeing.

The registered manager told us people were always at the centre of every decision made at the service. They told us, “Some people require going out. One [person] wanted to go to the phone shop, so we sent a carer to take [them] to the shop to sort out [their] mobile phone. For another [person] who we are trying to settle in at the moment, we put in place a second carer to take [them] places [they] wanted to go to, so that [their spouse] could rest at home."

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

The management and staff listened to people and provided flexible care to help ensure people’s needs were responded to. For example, if something happened during a visit, and the care worker had to stay with the person, the office staff would arrange for another care worker to step in and help. The registered manager told us, “If someone wanted something not allocated for in the visit, the carer would call us, and we would put something in place. For example, if someone had an accident when the carer was leaving, we would let the carer stay on and support the person and cancel their next call.” They added the call would be covered by another staff member.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

The registered manager spoke positively about the staff team. There were systems in place to identify if staff had any specific health or wellbeing needs. They told us, “We know our care workers well, and we do support them as much as possible. I had a chat to a care worker recently who was struggling. [Field supervisor] reached out to [them]. [They] asked if there was anything they could do to support [them]. They met and discussed all areas of concerns.”

Staff felt supported and spoke of being a good team. A staff member told us, “Staff morale is great. We support each other like a family. I love my job and everyone helps each other.

[Registered manager] is great, always understanding, supportive and caring so are all the office staff and I'm proud to work for Kind Hearts."