Weldon Homecare Services Limited

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 good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 80 (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.Staff provided person-centred care, ensuring that each person’s needs and preferences were met with compassion and respect. The kindness shown to people at the service was also felt by their relatives and professionals coming to the service. The actions of staff at the service gave relatives peace of mind knowing their family members were cared for. Staff spoke about people fondly and with compassion. One staff member said, “We look after clients like they are our family, it is emotional when we lose one client.”

People and their relatives spoke positively about staff and the way they were treated. One person shared, “They are excellent… They go the extra mile by asking if there is anything else that needs to be done before they leave. I can’t speak highly enough of them.” Another commented, “I feel like a member of the Weldon family, it’s as simple as that.”

The provider had put on a Christmas party 2 years in a row to get staff and people together as a way of combatting loneliness and creating connections. The registered manager said, “It’s getting people together to have a chat and nice for team building. Once we did it the first year I was bombarded to do it again the next year. Some customers are on their own.”

The provider also supplied presents to people at Christmas and on their birthday. This may include flowers or chocolates and if the person had a diagnosis of diabetes, they would provide diabetic chocolate so people’s needs could be met without them being left out. A staff member told us about a person they supported who they bought a specific type of beer for as they knew they would like it. They also told us about buying a rose from a garden centre for another person, they said, “It makes their day sometimes and they are very grateful. They have lots of roses, but didn't have a yellow one. It’s now much bigger and the family call it the Weldon rose.” Staff told us if they had a gift idea or wanted to buy an item, such as ice creams in the summer, they would call the office to authorise it and would be quickly reimbursed. This meant people were treated with warmth and respect, helping them feel valued and safe.

Staff treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met was in line with their assessed needs and preferences. Staff were respectful of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, and determination to maintain their independence. One staff member said, “Everything is very personal. Every client I’ve met, the care plans in place are almost like tailored. They [Management team] have gone out of their way to make sure they [care plans] are individual, with the little things as well. For example, a client likes his lamp on of an evening, this is made clear in the plan. Makes all the difference, the attention to detail.”

Staff recognised the importance of maintaining family and personal connections and were able to give examples where they had supported people to rebuild relationships with family members where they had stopped talking. People told us staff helped with personal routines such as washing and preparing meals but doing so in a way that respected their existing abilities. This meant people received care that recognised and respected their unique needs, preferences, and identities.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment, and wellbeing.People’s care needs, including what they could do for themselves, was documented in their care plan. Staff understood the importance of supporting people to maintain their independence and offering people choice, so they were empowered.One staff member gave an example and said, “I asked if they wanted a shower or a wash. It was their choice. They said they wanted a shower. They have use of their hands, so I give them the soap and they wash themselves.”

Some people described the service as exceptionally communicative, even anticipating needs One person said, “I am so well informed, I know what’s happening before it’s happened. [Director and registered manager] are so great with me.” This meant people were supported to make their own choices and maintain control over their daily lives.

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.Staff understood how to respond to any immediate concerns and people’s needs. Staff were able to provide examples of this and how they would escalate any concerns. One staff member told us about going to a care call where someone needed immediate support and said, “I reassured the client told them everything would be fine. I called the office told them the scenario. They made suggestions of what I could do. The client was still no better so I called NHS 111. They guided me on what to do and how to keep the client comfortable. They weren’t getting any better so 111 sent an ambulance.”

We saw evidence from a local newspaper where a staff member used CPR to save someone’s life. The registered manager said, “The staff member was in the care call. The person had a heart attack. They called 999 and then did CPR.”

Staff followed guidance provided in care plans which we reviewed and saw contained detailed information which was specific to the person. The registered manager told us, “If a customer rings in with an emergency call we always get someone to go within at least 30 minutes when care workers become available”. This meant people were treated as individuals as staff had guidance on how to do this.

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

The majority of the staff we spoke with felt listened to and felt respected by the registered manager. Most staff felt that if issues were raised that they would be dealt with. Most staff felt supported, involved, and appreciated, which contributed directly to the caring and consistent support people received. The registered manager had completed training to be a mental health first aider and said, “They [staff] know they can always come here at any time of day.”

The registered manager told us staff were paid during their travel time, if they had issues with their car they could use one a company vehicle and if staff were struggling with money the provider was able to offer loans or provide some of the staff members pay in advance to help them to manage their finances. The provider did not offer any formal employee assistance programme, but the registered manager advised us if needed they would signpost staff for support.

One staff member said, “I have worked with a few different people in my lifetime, and I just want to stick with them [The provider] until I retire because they are so, so brilliant.” Another staff member spoke about getting praise and compliments and said this is shared in various ways. They said, “When a client feels you’ve done a good job and compliments you, that melts my heart and I feel I deserve the thank you. We are all going to get old, we all need someone to fully care.”

The provider had not actively sought feedback from staff since 2024 and had not conducted formal team meetings, which may have been useful to support all staff in feeling listened to. Following our assessment and the feedback from staff the registered manager said they would review their current ways of working.