Annicare North

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• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 64 (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 did not always make sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices. The provider decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

Care plans accurately reflected people’s needs and people had been included in planning their care. One person told us, “My care was discussed when I recently came out of hospital.” In addition, care plans were regularly reviewed to ensure they remained accurate. A person said, “Someone came round last week to discuss my care.” A relative told us, “Yes, we have a care plan, and it is currently being reviewed. If they don’t know her needs, she tells them.”

Records showed staff were not always staying the appropriate length of time with people and staff were cutting the calls short. Most people we spoke with were happy with the amount of time staff spent with them and had no concerns. However, some people felt care was rushed.

There were some shortfalls in how the provider understood the diverse health and care needsof people and their local communities, so care was not always joined-up, flexible or supportive of choice and continuity.

People told us they would receive their support from a number of carers and this meant at times there was a lack of continuity. While most people told us this was not a problem to them and all staff provided safe care, some people did raise it as a concern. One relative said, “There are so many different carers it`s hard to say, a couple are nice but everyone seems in a rush to get to the next call. Only the regular [carers] know me well. One is coming tomorrow, and they have never been introduced and has never been before.” Another relative told us, “We asked for consistency of carers as [Name] needs that but they could not provide it so I do the night care now.”

Additionally, the way the provider’s contract with the NHS meant they did not schedule calls at a set time but worked with 4-hour windows for morning, lunch, afternoon and evening calls. This meant call times could vary from day to day and people could not always plan their day. One person told us, “There has been lots of carer changes recently and the times have been changed. I don’t mind but they didn’t tell me, so I didn’t know.” Another person said, “I don’t seem to have a set time, they come whenever.”

The provider did not always supply appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

While people had been involved in developing their care plans, they were not always easy for people to understand. Some of them contained the same information in many different places making the care plans difficult to review and understand. In addition, care plans were not provided in different formats such as easy read for people who may have a learning disability.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

People were given information on how to raise a complaint when they first started using the service. A person told us, “If we were worried about anything there are numbers on the care plan. No complaints and the staff are all very nice and patient.” Another person said, “I have had issues as they didn’t close the curtains during personal care, so I told them. It happened again with a different carer, so I rang the office, and they said `this is not acceptable.” Other people told us when they raised complaints the issues were dealt with, and they were happy with the outcome.

The provider made sure people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

Staff were responsive to people’s needs and ensured they could access healthcare advice and support when needed. A person told us, “Three weeks ago they called an ambulance for me as I was keep being sick they know me and know that I don’t linger in bed unless I have to.”

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

People felt they were treated well by staff. They spoke of the positive relationship they had with staff and considered their care calls as a positive part of their day. Staff had received training in supporting people’s equality and diversity, and understood what discrimination looked like. This meant they were able to effectively advocate for people if needed.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

The provider supported people at the end of their lives and people told us staff were aware people had specific needs at this difficult time. A person told us, “[Staff] listen and reassure [Name]. [Name] knows what is happening to them and they are scared.” Care plans contained information on people’s wishes as they moved towards the end of their lives. In addition, the provider worked with health care professionals to ensure people were comfortable and pain free at this time.