Great Care Health Services

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 65 (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 treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion.

People and relatives told us staff provided kind and compassionate support. One person told us, “They are good; I’ve got a good, caring team, very kind”; while a relative said, “[My relative] has good, caring staff.”

Staff explained, “We get to know the people we work with and treat them with kindness.”

The provider told us they recognise the caring nature of the staff team.

The provider did not always treat people as individuals or make sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences.

People with the mental capacity to do so were not always consulted regarding their care arrangements, nor was this consultation documented within people’s care records. Care plans did not always reflect people’s individual needs and preferences. For example, people’s care plans failed to make accurate reference to their individual health needs and how they wanted these to be met by staff. This meant people were at risk of their individual needs not always being consistently understood by staff.

People and relatives told us staff took time to get to know them and understand their individual needs. One relative, said, “My [relative] has a group of staff who know them well and do whatever they can to help them.”

The provider did not always promote people’s independence, so people did not always know their rights and have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Leaders demonstrated limited awareness of the ‘Right support, Right care and Right culture’ guidance, and people’s care plans and daily care records did not always make reference to the principles of the guidance. This meant autistic people and those with a learning disability who used the service were at risk of their needs not being appropriately understood and met by staff.

Where people had mental capacity regarding their care arrangements, they were not always able to have independence and control over their care records. For example, 1 person was unaware of the location of their care plan, what this said about them and what they could do to change this.

Where people were unable to make decisions for themselves, staff got to know people well and were able to present choices to support people making decisions.

Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Records showed people received support at agreed times and we found people’s needs being responded to promptly by staff. For example, people who requested support with their medical needs were supported so they were able to attend a healthcare appointment.

People and relatives told us staff had a good awareness of people’s needs, including being able to recognise how people with communication needs communicated choices and preferences.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff.

Staff spoke positively about the provider, telling us they were always available to provide them support should this ever be required.

Staff told us they felt listened to by the provider and described them as approachable. This contributed to a culture in which most staff felt respected and valued.

The provider described how they demonstrated an appreciation of the work staff undertook, by ensuring they can be contacted by staff at all times, and by supporting staff to have a positive work-life balance.