Optimum Care 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 70 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Most people and relatives we spoke with told us staff treated them, their family member with kindness, empathy, compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. A person told us staff were, “Absolutely great, I get on with them great, they are often the only person I see during the day…so it’s lovely to see them.” A relative said, “They always do everything with dignity and respect.”

We talked through with the provider some of the mixed feedback received and they were open to our feedback and were able to give explanations.

Staff treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. People’s religion and their wishes including what was important to them was documented within their care plans. A relative said, “[Staff] know [family member] is a quiet man…they talk to [family member] about football, as they know that gets him talking.”

Staff promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. This helped enable people to remain in their own homes where possible. Staff gave examples of how they promoted people’s independence and choices. A staff member said, “Core value of the service is excellent care to people in their homes, (such as) personal care in their homes. It helps keep people living in their own home and independent.”

In the main staff listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Most people and or their relative told us staff responded to people’s care and support needs promptly. This acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. We saw recorded evidence of emergency services being called and how staff stayed with the person until they arrived. However, a person told us that they did not always feel staff listened to them when they said they felt unwell. We talked this through with the provider. The provider had started to make improvements in relation to this; however, it is too soon to evidence that actions are fully embedded.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff told us they felt supported and listened to by the new manager in place. Team meetings were held and discussions relevant to the service discussed. Staff said communication had improved. Some staff gave examples of how they were supported by the manager around work/life balance. A staff member said about working at the service, “It's good, they listen to us and respond to work matters (we might have), they are good... Communication, it wasn't so good but the manager (new manager) if you contact about a work query, (for example) about the rota, [they] will reply and get back [to you] soon.”