Annicare North

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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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 all the staff were kind. One relative told us, “[Staff Member] is utterly amazing and has time and compassion. They even learnt hand signals for [my family member] as they are non-verbal. They are so happy to see [the staff member] and do pretend kisses to them from their hands-they adore them. [Staff member] takes them out on a Saturday and takes them to MacDonalds-it`s such a weight off my mind that I know that they are safe and enjoying themselves.” People also told us they had a good relationship with the staff team. One person told us, “Excellent, they talk to me, we have a chat and a laugh, give me tea when I want and a shower when I want. No complaints. We have a laugh.” Another person told us, “The carer`s brighten my day and I look forward to them coming.”

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.

People told us staff understood their needs and provided care in a way which supported them. A relative told us, “[Name] has a really painful back, so staff pay attention, listen to [Name], don’t ever rush them and are extremely careful with them.” A person told us, “They are in a routine now and they know me more than I know me.” A relative told us how staff worked to ensure people were comfortable while receiving care. They said, “If a male carer comes they stand to the side and a female does the personal care. They have bed baths, and they use a shower cap with shampoo in to clean their hair.”

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

People told us they were able to make choices and were in control of their day to day lives. One person told us, “Yes, I can do what I want, when I want. They do all sorts of little jobs for me. I do the dishes, and they make me tea.”

Another person told us how staff supported them to do as much as possible for themselves. They said, “For my independence they watch me and will help only if I need it.” Another person told us how staff give them encouragement to be independent. They said, “[Staff] say ‘I was going to help you with your shoes, but you are doing a fine job. I`ll help you with your socks if you get into difficulty.’ I try to be involved in my care as much as possible.”

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.

All the people we spoke with told us how staff supported people and ensured their immediate needs were met in a variety of ways. One relative told us, “They rang me when [my family member] was being sick, so I rang the Doctor`s and Palliative nurses came out—they stayed over their time and changed the whole of their bed which had sick on. That was really good of them.” Another person told us, “[My family member] was in a lot of pain, so I rang and they got someone out straight away to adjust the way they were lying that was really good.” People were confident staff would be there when needed.

The provider had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. Staff listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

Staff had received training in how to record incidents. All staff told us they would contact the office immediately to let them know about any incidents, as well as completing an incident form. We saw following incidents people’s care needs were reviewed to ensure emerging risks were taken into account in the care provided.