Right At Home (East Lancashire & Ribble Valley)

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 key question was previously rated good. This key question has improved 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.

Staff always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion. They respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff were respectful and professional with other organisations involved in meeting people’s needs.

People and relatives gave consistently excellent feedback about how respectful, compassionate and kind staff were.

Relatives said, for example, “They always try to cheer [person] up, even when they’re having a bad day,” and, “They always treat her with respect and affection, a person not a client.” One external healthcare professional told us, “I would like to highlight their positive attitude, professionalism and commitment to supporting people to achieve the best outcomes possible.”

The provider ensured no one going to hospital had to do so alone. The provider ensured that staffing was arranges so that if people had no family members present or suitable professionals, staff stayed with people until they were admitted onto a ward. The registered manager said, “We do this because we know how disorientating it can be and how sometimes it’s only social care that can step in and give people that compassion.” Families confirmed this to be the case, meaning these were not isolated instances but part of a wider genuinely caring culture.

Individual members of staff demonstrated a commitment to make meaningful personal connections with the people they supported, which in turn improved people’s wellbeing and ability to engage in the things that mattered to them. They were supported to have the time to do this by a provider that understood the impact of patience on the quality of care delivered. The provider supported this caring approach in a number of ways. For instance, values-led recruitment ensuring candidates demonstrated a caring attitude, extensive shadowing by senior staff who had exhibited a caring approach, and ongoing recognition and celebration of caring staff. Staff in turn responded to this and numerous relatives told us they had, “Gone above and beyond,” to ensure people were treated kindly. One staff member bonded with a person over their love of gardening and brought them a rose bush to brighten their garden. One staff member spent additional time with a person to play the games they wanted. These were not isolated incidents but part of how the provider’s culture set out to treat people. One relative summed it up, “It’s like they’re visiting a family member they treat them so well.”

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. Care planning and delivery considered people’s abilities, preferences, aspirations, culture, backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff considered people’s individual needs and preferences. This was fully enabled through comprehensive pre-assessment information and ongoing review of people’s care plans, by staff who understood people’s individualities and recorded them accurately and accessibly. Care plans were person-centred perspective and gave a significant amount of background into people’s lives.

The provider worked extremely hard at promoting people’s independence with the opportunities they had. People knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People were encouraged and empowered to undertake tasks independently where they were able. For instance, helping make their own meals, choosing their plans for the day, for the week and beyond. Staff were always supportive and encouraged people to try new things and to aim for goals they might previously not have attempted due to restrictions beyond their control.

The provider has enabled people to regain independence where previously other agencies or people had assumed this would not be possible. For instance, one person had a dream to visit a long-term friend in another country. Staff got to understand the importance of this connection through gradually getting to know the person and then began to work with them to build towards the dream. They eventually supported them to make the journey, including ensuring there was an accessible overnight stay on the way. This meant the person was able to revisit relationships that were extremely meaningful to them. Another person was at risk of malnutrition and self-neglect. The provider, after taking all necessary safeguarding actions, worked with the person to understand the background to their situation and to support them to explore socialising and other positive steps again. They put weight back and their outlook significantly improved. The provider’s consistent focus on the positives of socialisation and accessing community events, played a key part in this.

The provider also used meaningful activities to tactfully encourage and support people to increase their levels of independence. For instance, one person had previously not engaged with known previous hobbies and appeared withdrawn. Their regular carer took the time to set out tactile activities for them to build their confidence, and a rapport between them, over time. Building on these skills and confidence the person was now taking a much more involved role in baking and other daily tasks, with evident positive impacts for them.

Staff helped people have a level of control that went beyond care tasks. Another person had a lifelong love of animals, particularly horses. Staff arranged for them to visit a nearby donkey sanctuary, fully risk assessing and putting adjustments in place to ensure their mobility could be supported. This provided a significant emotional boost to the person, and strengthened their relationship with carers, who genuinely valued what made them unique.

One external professional told us, “They provide person-centred care that promotes safety whilst maximising independence.” A relative told us, “I’ve been surprised at what they’ve been able to do – [person] loves getting out and loves dogs - they have helped [person] get a rescue dog and take it for walks with them. It’s a real boost for them.”

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment. They acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

People told us staff arrived on time and, if there was ever a delay, they were informed in advance. People felt able to disclose concerns or changes in needs if they had any, because they had built up trusting relationships with staff. Family members and others had confidence that staff would pick up on subtle changes in people’s needs because of this.

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

Staff described the support they received as, “Second to none,” and, “Exceptional.” One said, “I’ve been in social care for 15 years and this is the best company I’ve seen. They always go over and above for their staff and it really does feel like you’re part of a team or a family.”

There were comprehensive and consistent programmes of support to ensure staff could thrive. For instance, the provider proactively supported members of staff who demonstrated exceptional caring qualities, and needed coaching or mentoring support to progress with managerial experience and qualifications.

The provider recognised where staff had delivered exceptional person-centred care and presented them with an ‘Above and Beyond Caregiver’ (ABC) award. Staff who had received these confirmed they improved morale and helped reaffirm the caring ethos of the service. They were also able to recognise the caring efforts of their peers via the ‘Compliment a Colleague’ scheme. Again, take up was strong and there was a notably positive workforce culture, led by the provider.

Staff said, “I’ve received an ABC and whilst we do it because we want the best for people, it was a lovely surprise to receive aware and to be recognised,” and, “It is always made known to us how much our work is valued.”

The provider understood the need for peer-to-peer support, and worked hard to overcome the workforce challenges that homecare can present (staff isolation; turnover; communication). They were supportive of a regular meeting between care staff and a care co-ordinator, where staff could discuss any ideas or concerns over coffee, in a more relaxed environment. This helped ensure there were strong bonds between office and care staff. This had also led to service improvement ideas being put forward by staff, and acted on.

People received excellent person-centred care, in part due to the strong commitments and bonds that staff had between each other and with the care provider, who fully respected and valued their input.

The provider had invested significantly in staff facilities recently, as well as ensuring there were weekly welfare calls to staff and proactive signposting of relevant services, such as counselling and a local women’s centre. This demonstrated their commitment to ensuring staff wellbeing. A member of staff told us, “They have supported me so well when I’ve needed some time off I was really worried, but they put me at ease.”

The provider has also introduced an ‘Appreciation Station’ as a result of an idea from a staff member, this consisted of a range of small treats and snacks that staff could choose from one day per month. Multiple staff members commented positively on this , the provider had achieved a balance of ensuring the core support and systems were in place for staff, as well as the meaningful smaller touches. All of this contributed to lower staff turnover and increased staff resilience, which in term meant increased levels of continuity of care for people.