ESPA Agency

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. A person told us, “Staff are kind and caring. They are friendly, will do anything to help and they are always there for me.” Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

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.

Support plans were detailed and person-centred, containing clear information about people’s individual choices and preferences regarding how they wished to be supported. Staff had access to guidance on meeting each person’s cultural, social, and religious needs. This ensured that care was delivered in a respectful and inclusive way, supporting people to maintain their identity and beliefs.

Staff promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. A person said, “Staff respect my privacy and encourage me to be as independent as possible.”

Staff encouraged people to take part in activities to improve their social stimulation. A relative told us, “Without a doubt the staff are caring. Staff are interested in what [Person] likes such as cooking and clay modelling and they encourage [Person] with that. Staff go above and beyond to provide support. They have developed a special handshake with [Person] which they enjoy.”

Staff supported people to maintain relationships with those important to them and to access the local community. A relative said, “(Staff) support [Person] to do the things they want to do and they visit a lot of places in the Northeast. [Person] is in a good place since being supported by ESPA. Prior to joining (ESPA Agency) staff in another agency did not encourage [Person] to do things. They are now part of a social group.”

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. Staff knew people well and were attentive to their needs in a timely way. A staff member told us, “ESPA's support for quality of life improvements for service users is one of the best aspects of working with them. The high-quality, person-centred support that maintains dignity, independence, and safety for service users. During an incident, I was able to calm and support a service user through a major emotional breakdown I learned through ESPA training.”

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff confirmed that the management team supported their wellbeing to make sure they could give their best to people when at work. A staff member told us, “I feel supported by both my team and management. I receive regular supervision and appraisals.”