Anytime Care 2020(Leicester)

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 newly registered service. This key question has been rated 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 spoke positively about the caring approach of staff. They consistently described staff as kind, compassionate, and respectful in the way they provided care and support. People told us staff treated them with dignity, respected their privacy, and took time to understand their individual preferences and wishes. A relative said, “They [staff] are a lovely part of our family, we all work together, and there’s always a bit of banter between us. It’s good.”

People received consistent care from staff that knew them well. People told us about recent changes with staff but added this had not had a negative impact on their care. People told us, and staff confirmed, new staff shadowed experienced staff before working independently. This also meant that people received care from staff that had already been introduced to them.

Staff understood the importance of providing care that was respectful and dignified and gave examples of how this was achieved. A staff member said, “Every person has the right to receive care and support that's dignified and respectful. It’s important to understand people's backgrounds and routines and what's important to them.” Another staff member said, “I'm respectful when providing personal care, ensuring that people have a bit of private space, doors and curtains are closed.”

Staff told us they considered the staff team to work well together and described positive working relationships with their colleagues. Staff meeting records confirmed that the registered manager actively encouraged a culture of respect, teamwork, and professionalism within the service.

Meeting records demonstrated expectations regarding respectful behaviour and professional conduct were regularly discussed with staff. Meetings also provided opportunities for staff to raise concerns, discuss any conflicts or issues, and promote effective ways of resolving disagreements. This helped to foster positive working relationships, support staff wellbeing, and contribute to the delivery of consistent, person-centred care.

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 confirmed that staff had developed positive relationships with them and supported them in accordance with their routines, preferences, and individual wishes. People told us care call times and the duration of visits met their needs and enabled them to maintain their preferred daily routines.

Care records included information about people's backgrounds, life histories, strengths, and abilities. People's protected characteristics and individual preferences had been considered during care planning, and care was adapted to reflect these needs to help ensure support was personalised. For example, people's preferences regarding the gender of their care staff had been discussed and respected.

However, we found that guidance for staff was not always sufficiently detailed. Information about people's individual routines, preferences, interests, and the aspects that made them unique could have been further developed within care plans. This would help to ensure, particularly for new or unfamiliar staff, that they had a comprehensive understanding of people's wishes and how they preferred their care and support to be delivered. We discussed this with the registered manager who agreed to review documentation.

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 staff consistently encouraged and respected their independence, choice, and decision-making. A relative said, “They [staff] do monitor what [family member] does, and they don’t step in without checking with them first, they don’t take over, which helps them keep a bit of independence.”

Staff adopted a person-centred approach that respected people's rights, preferences, and abilities, helping them to remain as independent as possible.

Care plans included guidance for staff on the importance of promoting people's independence, choice, and control. Daily care records demonstrated that staff routinely encouraged people to make decisions about their care and supported them to do as much for themselves as possible.

Staff understood the importance of enabling people to retain control over their lives and recognised the positive impact this had on people's wellbeing. One staff member said, “It's really important to always promote choice and independence. It's also really important to ensure the person has control of their life and how they receive care as fully 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.

People told us the service was flexible and responsive to their individual needs and circumstances. For example, people said requests to change care call times to accommodate appointments or other commitments were accommodated wherever possible.

People and their relatives provided examples of staff responding promptly during emergencies and unexpected changes in health. One relative told us, “The carers have rung the doctor and called the ambulance for [family member] when they've been ill or found to have fallen.”

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff were positive about working for the service. They told us they felt well supported, valued, and spoke highly of the management team.

From reviewing staff meeting and supervision records, the registered manager had a clear focus and commitment to staff wellbeing. For example, discussions with staff identified the potential emotional impact on staff when providing end of life care. To support staff, this was discussed and staff reminded of the workplace assistive support service they had access to.

Staff confirmed that reasonable adjustments were made to support them in their roles. This included offering choice and flexibility around work patterns, particularly for those with caring responsibilities, which helped staff maintain a healthy work–life balance and continue providing consistent care.

We were aware from staff records some staff were working excessive hours, whilst we were assured this was staff’s choice, we did not see records that confirmed staff had voluntarily opted out of the Working Time Regulations 1998. This law states you cannot work more than 48 hours a week on average. You can choose to work more byopting outof the 48-hour week. Following the inspection, the registered manager forwarded information to confirm this. The registered manager also told us how they monitored staff’s hours ensuring they had suitable breaks and days off. This included consideration of staff driving, rotating this as a safety method.