Alina Homecare Horsham

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 changed to 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 and their loved ones provided consistently positive feedback about how staff respected their privacy. One person told us, “They don’t come into the toilet with me. If I’m going to change my clothes, they don’t stand in the room with me unless I ask.” A family member told us, “They shut the door, they do respect [persons] privacy”. Staff spoke about people kindly and with compassion, daily notes were written respectfully and included how people were feeling that day. Staff and people formed professional, yet close relationships. One family member shared their experience about the service, “It’s consistent, trustworthy, empathic and the carers are very well trained. One carer brings [loved one] a cream cake and they have tea. Lots of small acts of kindness like that. they go over and above making sure I’m informed of everything”. The registered manager told us of regular lunches and cream teas they had organised for people and staff which included arranging for parcels of cakes being given to those people who were unable to attend. This meant people were supported to be included in social events.

The provider treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The provider took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. The registered manager and staff spoke about people with respect and admiration. For example, staff had spent time getting to know people to understand their needs and preferences. One person who was initially reluctant to accept support was now happy and confident in the support provided by Alina Homecare Horsham. A loved one told us, “They give [person] someone to talk to, help their wellbeing and it’s a godsend to us. I don’t know how we would do without them. Sometimes [person] gets despondent with how awful their life is, they will sit and talk to them and hold their hand. They are not in a rush to get off, they certainly help their wellbeing”. The registered manager told us how they matched staff with people, they considered personalities of both parties as well as interests. One person had a strong interest in football and the registered manager spoke of how they were matching staff to this interest, “I'm setting up carers who like football”. A staff member commented, “In some cases the person’s hobbies and interests would be found by just talking to the client or their family. Knowledge of these can help you chat about their interests when you are at their house and providing care. For some clients we escort them out on social trips and we can target where we take them”. Staff consistently spoke of the importance of supporting people as individuals. Comments included, “I feel we have time to encourage the client to be as independent as possible”. And, “I encourage person to do as much as they can . I wait beside them". People were supported by staff who knew

them extremely well and celebrated their strengths and abilities.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People gave us examples of how staff promoted their autonomy and always gave options to enable them to have control over their daily lives. A person told us, “It’s nice. They are good. I’m very happy with them. I would hate to have to change them. They are here helping me.” The registered manager listened to people and the opinions of staff, where people had experienced improvements to their health and wellbeing their visits were adjusted and reduced to reflect this. A staff member gave examples of how they promoted independence and said, “Every client that I visit, I try and encourage and prompt the person to do as much for themselves as possible, this may be doing their shopping list together or even helping them make a cup of tea.”

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 were supported by a core group of staff to promote a continuity of care. People and family members told us they were supported well as staff knew them and their preferences. Comments included, “There's a group of them. I know them, they are all lovely.” And, “They put quite a lot of time and effort in how to keep consistency. [Person] knows all of them”. Staff had access to technology so they could quickly raise or respond to concerns about people or update the management team if there was an incident or if people’s needs had changed.

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. Staff were extremely well supported and felt highly appreciated by the provider and management team. A staff member told us, “We receive support from our leaders on a weekly/ daily basis. We receive emails from office staff when customers have left reviews and when we have won local rewards. We all know that we can phone any time, if we are having a bad day, or we can go into the office for an informal chat during office hours”. Another said, “There are great leaders in the company who are involved with the staff on every level. Support is available at any time – face to face, in the office or via the on call phone which is 24 hours”. And “I have felt valued since the day I started with the company, I am always treated with respect and made to feel empowered in my role, my manager listens to me and I always feel my opinion matters. We have an app called you manage and it has various options to support our wellbeing”. The provider celebrated and promoted staff development. One staff member shared their experience, “Alina Homecare offers promotional opportunities to the staff. In January 2024 I was offered to become an ambassador and completed the relevant training. I felt privileged and proud to be offered the opportunity to welcome new staff into our team, share my knowledge and support them at the start and throughout their journey”. The registered manager said, “It's about compassion and leading by example. Nothing I will ask staff I won't do. I work directly with them. I talk to staff all the time. I get regular reminders they're so compassionate. We all have one target, [to support people in line with the culture in the organisation] and are protective of our values.” All staff told us they felt valued and were extremely happy and proud to work for the organisation.