MNG Care at Home Services Ltd Also known as Visiting Angels North Shropshire

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 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 were treated with kindness and respect. Staff were caring in their approach and understood how to maintain people’s dignity. People told us they felt valued, supported and treated as individuals. One person’s relative told us, “Staff are always kind and caring. They always take as much time as needed. They try to get to know us”. Another person’s relative said, “The staff are brilliant, they look after [person] and they always check I’m okay too. I couldn’t be without the carers”.
 

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 and relatives told us staff knew them well and their care was delivered in the way they wanted. People were supported as individuals and staff delivered care which was tailored to people’s specific needs, preferences and routines. Care plans reflected people’s backgrounds, preferences and interests. People had communication care plans in place which guided staff how to communicate with them. Staff understood what was important to people and used this information to provide personalised support.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People were supported to maintain their independence and make their own choices. Staff encouraged people to be involved in their care and respected their decisions. Support was provided in a way which promoted independence and focused on people achieving desired outcomes and had a positive impact on their health and wellbeing. For example, the service supported one person who previously had not left their home for a significant period of time due to a mental health condition. Consistent carers supported the person over many months to travel further from their home. This led to the person achieving an outcome they had set to visit their relative on the coast which they were very proud of.

Where another person’s mobility had deteriorated significantly, a consistent carer supported the person, alongside an occupational therapist and physiotherapist, to walk outside each week. The staff member told us, “It was one of the person’s outcomes and it was really important for them”.
 

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 when to seek additional support or escalate concerns appropriately. They knew how to respond to changes in people’s physical or emotional wellbeing and took steps to ensure people remained safe and comfortable, including communicating concerns to relatives or other professionals where necessary. One person’s relative told us, “Whenever there have been any changes, they have been quick to act and make sure [person] is getting the right support”.
 

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.

The provider demonstrated an exceptional commitment to workforce wellbeing and ensured staff were appropriately supported to carry out their roles effectively. The provider had an ethos based on being “carer-centric”. One staff member described this as, “If you take care of your carers, they will show up for you”. We saw evidence of several wellbeing initiatives, including carer of the month, flexible working, mental health and emotional support, milestone awards and team building events. These initiatives were meaningful and actively supported staff wellbeing. One staff member told us, “I’ll be flexible with them, and in return they’ll be flexible with me – it is a friendly, but ultimately professional relationship”. The registered manager demonstrated a strong understanding of staff members’ individual needs and made supportive adjustments where required. Staff were able to use a pool car if their own vehicles were unavailable which helped staff to get to their care calls without difficulty. During poor weather in rural areas, the provider went above and beyond to support staff to ensure they were able to attend care calls safely and assisted with transportation where necessary.

Staff had access to regular supervision, support and training, which helped them feel confident, valued and equipped to meet people’s needs. Staff described feeling supported by management and able to raise concerns or seek advice when needed. One staff member said, “I have regular supervisions. I had one recently. It’s a holistic view of how you are doing, how you are dealing with the people we support, how you are helping your teammates and encouraging them, and I’m always asked if there is any way I can be supported more”. Staff were given the opportunity to provide feedback about what it was like to work for the service via staff meetings and surveys, and we saw actions were taken as a result of feedback. One staff member told us, “I appreciate the positivity within this organisation, and this is one of the best places I’ve ever worked when it comes to supporting staff”.