Care Options

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 remained 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.

Information about people’s life history was recorded in their care records. This helped to give staff an understanding of people’s likes and dislikes. The manager told us they observed staff in people’s homes and used that time to check with people they were happy with their care.

People spoke positively about staff describing them as caring. People and relatives told us staff respected people’s dignity and were respectful at all times. Comments included, “They [staff] are lovely, they have been wonderful” and “[Person] appreciates their help, [staff] are lovely towards [person].”

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.

Leaders made sure there was a step-by-step visit plan available for staff to follow. This was personalised according to people’s preferences and wishes. The plans covered visits at various times of the day and contained details of how people wanted to be treated and cared for.

People and relatives said staff had time to get to know them and sat and chatted to them about their lives. One relative said, “Staff are caring and willing to spend time, they don’t hurry things along. They listen and are very patient.”

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 records were written for staff to encourage independence and choice. Staff shared examples of how they promoted people’s independence and daily living skills. One member of staff said, “I like people to do as much as they can for themselves. For example, 1 person likes to do some bits of personal care themselves, then I step in when needed.”

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.

Leaders completed daily checks on the systems to make sure people had their visits at planned times. Any failure of staff to log in or complete care tasks was immediately checked.

People and relatives shared examples of how staff had responded quickly to signs of ill health and sought medical help. This responsive action had led to improved outcomes for people. One relative said, “Staff communicated how frail [person] looked, this led to getting medical help and a hospital admission.”

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

The provider did regular staff surveys to check on staff wellbeing. If possible reasonable adjustments could be made to hours of working. The manager said they recognised when staff went “above and beyond” what was expected and rewarded them with flowers or a ‘best carer’ T-shirt.

Staff told us they felt well supported in their work and felt able to approach leaders with any concerns. Comments from staff included, “You never feel like you are a problem, they [leaders] are always there to help” and “They [leaders] look after us, they are very good, they sort out any problems for us.”