A&J Assisted Living T/A Radfield Home Care Loughborough, Charnwood & Melton Mowbray Also known as Radfield Home Care Loughborough, Charnwood & Melton Mowbray

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. This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated outstanding. This meant people were truly respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service.

This service scored 90 (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 was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People were always treated with kindness, compassion and dignity. People we spoke with said staff were exceptionally kind and caring. One person said, “The carers who help me are so kind caring and very respectful to me. Nothing is a trouble. I never have to ask them to do anything they do things that they are not necessarily meant to do like hoover, load my dish washer, if I need any shopping they will get it between calls.”

A relative told us, “All of the carers are very respectful, and they do care about [family member] and they have plenty of time to do all they need, no 2 days can be the same this is why [family member] needs all the time they have for their calls.”

Another relative told us how the manager had arranged additional support for their family member because they had recognised the stress and strain the family member was experiencing. They said, “This was above and beyond what I expected from them.”

Staff had sufficient time to spend with people. They knew people well and understood their care and support needs, wishes and choices. Staff had built trusting relationships with people and their families. A relative said, “[Family member] usually has the same carers which they like, they have told me more than once how lovely they all are.” Another relative told us, “When I go away the carers cover for me and I know that [family member] will be very well looked after by people I can really trust and I know that if [family member] has any problems they will let me know.”

Staff told us about the actions they took to make people feel important and cared about. A staff member said, “I can make people happy by offering companionship to reduce isolation and loneliness. We share conversations and spend time with people.”

The provider celebrated staff ‘be there moments’ at team meetings. Staff were rewarded for spending time with people and supporting them to do things they enjoyed. For example, supporting people to spend time in their garden or to go outside, supporting a person to maintain their garden, helping people to get ready for special events such as going to their place of worship and ensuring they were well presented and felt special. Other people enjoyed playing games such as noughts and crosses, and another staff member gave a person a manicure because this was important to the person. Staff reported how this had a positive impact on the person and increased their wellbeing and quality of life.

A relative told us, “My family member couldn’t be treated any better, they are treated with respect, their dignity is maintained at all times and whatever they need they do it for them.”

Staff had training about maintaining privacy and dignity and this was embedded within each person’s care plan. Staff we spoke with were able to describe how they maintained people’s privacy and dignity and understood their responsibilities to do this.

A staff member told us, “I respect people’s privacy and dignity by gaining consent, explaining care, and treating people with respect. I always close the curtains, cover them with a towel during washing so they don’t feel uncomfortable.”

Another staff member said, dignity is focusing on the value of every individual, including respecting their views, choices and decisions, and not making assumptions about how they want to be treated.”

The provider sent out birthday cards and Christmas gifts to every person using the service.

Sixteen members of staff including the provider and managers took part in a charity fundraising event and raised a substantial amount of money for Dementia UK.

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 knew them well and care and support met their preferences. People were supported by staff who knew them well. One person said, “My carers have really got to know me and everything I need and yes they would know if I wasn’t feeling well or even just a bit down.”

Assessments of people’s needs identified people’s abilities as well as areas which they required support. Care plans were detailed about people’s preferences and the way they preferred to be supported.

People’s personal, cultural, social and religious needs were recorded and staff respected them. Some people had been supported to attend their chosen place of worship. Other people had been supported to go out and take part in their chosen hobbies and interests.

Staff knew how to communicate with people effectively. A staff member told us, “I understand people’s preferences and backgrounds through care plans and communication with them.” Another staff member explained they communicated effectively by, “Paying attention to non-verbal cues, body language, and, where necessary, use communication charts to understand what a person is communicating, especially if they have limited verbal skills”.

People were asked about their preferred gender of staff member. A person told us, “I have both male and female carers, and I was asked if I was happy with this. I don’t have a shower when I have a male carer but I plenty of opportunities to have a shower another day so it’s not a problem at all.”

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

People told us there was a collaborative approach between themselves and staff by identifying goals based on what was important to them and what they wanted to achieve. They told us when they first began using the service, they were asked about their care support needs and preferences.

Care plans we assessed included information about people’s strengths and abilities and what people wanted to achieve, for example people set out in detail what they wanted care staff to do. One person said they wanted to ‘remain as independent as possible’ and staff respected this. Regular reviews took place to ensure any changing needs could be responded to and accommodated for. People were asked at every review, ‘Are the carers supporting you in the way you need and promoting independence. If not, how can we change to improve this?’ The support the person needed from staff for them to achieve their optimum level of independence and ability to make choices was clearly detailed.

Staff ensured people had choice and control over their lives, this included people’s choice to decline care and support being respected. Records showed staff promoted people’s independence, always offered choice and followed known preferences such as the way they preferred to receive medicines, what people liked to wear, and preferred meals and drinks. Call times were kept under regular review and changes made accordingly to meet people’s changing needs. People knew which staff were providing their care and support. A person told us, “I receive a rota every week showing which ones are coming and when.”

When a person began routinely declining support to go to bed at night, staff contacted managers for support. A manager spoke directly to the person on the telephone to encourage them to accept this support in a way they felt comfortable with. They followed up by contacting the person’s family to discuss the best way to promote choice and control while also ensuring safety and comfort. A decision was made to make a bed available downstairs to provide additional choice to the person and promote their comfort and wellbeing and to contact family members for additional support when this was required. This supported the person’s preference to stay in their own home despite support needs increasing.

People’s social needs were understood, and the service had a strong emphasis on companionship, this was factored into people’s care plans and call tasks. People were supported to maintain and develop their relationships with those close to them, their social networks and community. Where appropriate, people’s family members were involved in planning and reviewing care and support. A relative told us, “A very comprehensive care plan was written at the start of the service with me, [person] was there but my input was also taken into account.”

Staff kept in contact with people’s family members. One person’s family lived in a different part of the country and staff ensured they were kept informed and told us they had lots of positive feedback about how the service was supporting the person to stay in their own home which was important to them. Relatives told us communication was very good. Relatives could access care records remotely (with consent) so they could stay informed of their family member’s wellbeing or otherwise. A relative said, “If either of them are not their usual selves I immediately get a call to let me know”

The provider was involved in developing a ‘dementia café’ for people and their carers to access support within a social group. This supported the reduction of isolation and promoted stimulation through community connections.

Staff supported people to engage in meaningful hobbies and interests in a personalised way. Staff gave us examples of how they supported people to follow their chosen hobbies and interests. A person interested in art was supported to attend a community art event. The staff member told us about the positive impact this had on the person’s wellbeing. A staff member supported a person to get their car repaired so they could get out into the community.

Staff contacted appropriate professionals such as community nurses and occupational therapists when equipment to support people’s independence and safety was required. They made sure equipment was maintained and checked.

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.

People told us staff had supported them effectively when an emergency had occurred. Staff gave us examples of when thy had done this.

Staff were knowledgeable about what to do if people were unwell, in any discomfort or distressed. A staff member described using distraction techniques and explaining exactly what they were doing in the way the person could understand when they became distressed.

Staff worked collaboratively with people’s family members to resolve any emerging issues. They sought advice from other professionals appropriately.

Staff told us they were encouraged to report any concern about people’s changing needs to managers. Staff were reminded of emergency procedures during team meetings and competency assessments.

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

The provider’s goal was to deliver person centred care and understood staff wellbeing was essential to achieve this. They told us they believed if staff feel valued, heard and appreciated this resulted in ‘happy clients’.

Care calls were scheduled to ensure staff had enough time to spend with service users with a focus on companionship as well as meeting daily living needs. Staff were given sufficient time to travel between care calls without feeling unduly pressured. When events resulted in any time pressures, staff felt able to contact the office for support. Managers responded with support, by contacting the wider team to take the staff members place or telephoning the person using the service for the next scheduled call to advise the staff member was running late. People using the service confirmed this was the case. They said, “The carers stay as long as they should and its very unusual for them to be late for calls.”

Managers ensured regular contact with staff through an open, accessible and supportive culture. Staff had ongoing opportunities to discuss any personal and professional needs through meetings and performance reviews. They were encouraged to contact the office with any feedback or concern and frequently did this. The management structure ensured every staff member always had accessible support including staff on call outside of office hours.

Staff told us they liked working for the service. They said the entire team was supportive and gave us examples of how managers listened to them and made changes to support the delivery of person-centred care based on their feedback and suggestions. A staff member told us, “The company are very supportive and understanding and very helpful, the management are really good with staff and clients, the best I’ve worked for so far. Everyone is very comfortable and friendly to talk to, we’re all a big family.”

Another staff member said, “My experience so far has been positive, and I feel supported in my role.I feel like am in a family because we are treated like family members”.

A staff reward scheme acknowledged individual achievement and recognition. The reward scheme ‘care professional appreciation’ acknowledged staff excellence and awarded prizes to the winning staff members at team meetings. This was also communicated to people using the service through a newsletter along with other staff successes and achievements.

The provider had a ’lone worker policy’ to reduce risk to staff. Risks were assessed for each location staff attend. Training was provided about possible risks, how to make sure their whereabouts as a lone worker were traceable, how to deal with situations of aggression or threat and how to call for help.

Staff surveys were carried out annually to seek feedback from staff about working for the service and about the quality of care and support provided. Results for the 2025 survey were overwhelmingly positive.