Seven Hills Homecare

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 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. People were complimentary about the care and support they received and felt staff were kind, caring and compassionate. One person said, “To be honest it is like having close friends having these carers.” One relative said, “The caring personality of the carers is perfect. They are like an extended family.”

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’s preferences and choices were upheld. For example, where people preferred a female carer this was facilitated. One family member said, “All the carers we have are female and that is good for my relative being 95 years of age.” Another family member said, “My relative had a sense of humour which [they] feel comfortable sharing with the carers, so it feels like a good bond of light entertainment while the care is being carried out.”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Staff and leaders supported people to access the community and facilitated visits to places such as local coffee shops and church. People and relatives were very much involved in their care and their independence was maintained. One relative said, “The carers know what my relative can and can’t do, so they encourage them on what [family member] can do to promote their independence.” Another relative said, “The carers have a bubbly personality and are very caring. They promote [family member’s] independence by letting them loosen their buttons and get undressed.”

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 were competent in identifying when people required further support. For example, one person presented as unwell and the carer contacted their family and alerted emergency services. Staff stayed with the person until their family arrived. People and relatives were confident staff would raise an alert if something was wrong. One person said, “There was a time when I was poorly and the carers got in touch with my family, so I think they played an active role.” One relative said, “The carers are quick to respond to anything I need. The carers contacted the district nurse on my behalf when my relative’s health declined a little and I’m very grateful for that. We have a care plan and its updated and meets our needs currently.”

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. All staff were supplied with a care worker handbook when they commenced working for the provider. This provided details of staff policies and procedures such as the sickness policy, annual leave entitlement and employment rights. Staff were supported by the management team and felt able to contact the management team for support.