Merseycare Julie Ann 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 the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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.

Staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. The positivity and fondness with which the staff were regarded was acknowledged by people and their relatives. Care was described as kind and respectful. Comments included, “My carers are what I call my ‘Julieann babes’ and I love them to bits and they make me feel good, safe and are my friends” and “I do have one carer that comes who is pretty regular and she is the most kindest, caring a person you would ever wish to meet. She does so much for me.” Staff spoke with kindness and compassion for the people they cared for. A staff member told us, “If I can put a smile on someone’s face and make them laugh, I have done my job.”

People told us their dignity was maintained when staff delivered personal care. Comments included, “They ensure the bathroom door is closed and I am covered up sufficiently if I want to be. I have never been in a position where they haven’t taken my personal dignity into consideration. I have never felt uncomfortable or embarrassed."

There was a person-centred culture within the service. Staff treated people as individuals and made sure care met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. People’s individual preferences were discussed at the initial assessment and during care reviews in areas such as preferences for gender of staff and their day-to-day care routines.

People and their relatives told us staff respected them as individuals and understood their specific care needs and preferred routines. A person told us, “We have a little catch up on the news, a little talk and that’s lovely. Yes, they know my routine, they make a cup of tea and take it from there. They will chat and do tasks."

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 at the heart of decisions regarding their care and support and were consulted regularly about their views. Care plans were written in a way that focussed on what people could do for themselves. Staff told us they focussed on maintaining people’s independence. Comments included, “If I’m helping a service user carry out an activity, I try to let them do what they can for themselves. We’re there to encourage them and not to take away their skills” and “The most important thing the company told us was to encourage them to do what they can, main thing is for them to see and make progress in themselves, we support that."

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. Incident records showed staff escalated concerns in a timely manner and we were assured responsive action was taken to reduce risk and promote people’s wellbeing. During the assessment, we observed how the provider took timely action to increase a person’s support following a change in their circumstances.

People and their relatives told us staff were attentive and recognised any changes in their needs. A relative told us, “[Person] is diabetic and thanks to the carers [Person] might just have avoided losing a toe or more. They were drying [Person’s] feet, noticed a blister, called a podiatrist and it was in fact an ulcer caused by the diabetes."

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Several systems were in place to support staff wellbeing such as supervisions, team meetings, spot checks, training and access to an employee assistance programme. The provider held recognition events such as carer of the month and year to acknowledge compliments staff had received and make them feel valued as part of a team. Staff told us, “I’ve always felt supported. It feels like a family and working together” and “We have meetings every couple of months. I feel able to share my views."