Archived: Hounslow and Ealing

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 service 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 treated people with kindness, compassion and respect. People and their relatives told us staff were respectful, polite and they had good relationships with them. Some of their comments included, “We have come to like the carers, and they treat [person] the way they would treat their own parents”, “I want to keep these carers because of the way they care”, “I am thankful for the carers who are polite and always happy” and “Our relative enjoys their company.”

The provider made sure people were treated as individuals. They had created personalised care plans that reflected individual needs and choices. Some people did not speak English as a first language. The provider had tried to match care workers who could communicate in the person’s first language and those who shared cultural backgrounds. People using the service and their relatives told us they were happy with the way care workers had been matched. Their comments included, “The care workers speak [person’s language] and that helps”, “The girls are [the same religion as person] and this helps [them] feel comfortable”, “[Person] is absolutely at ease with the carers. They stay as long as they should, they are on time, they are wonderful with [person]” and “The carers help [person] to do their morning prayers.” One relative told us they had invited staff to a special party to celebrate an important birthday for the person using the service. They told us the staff had attended, and this had made the person feel special.

The provider ensured people had choice and control over their care. People told us they were given choices. One relative explained the person being cared for used a type of sign language to communicate. They explained the staff also used this and offered choices and provided information in an accessible way. People told us they were supported to be independent when they wanted this. Care plans recorded the things people could do for themselves. They also included information about mobility and exercises people needed to undertake. Some people were also supported to take part in community-based activities and/or leisure activities at home and in their garden.

Staff responded to people’s immediate needs. People told us the staff were responsive and always made sure they had what they needed. They explained staff left them with drinks, access to items like remote controls and emergency alarms, as well as making sure they were safe at the end of each visit. Relatives told us staff had been responsive when people were unwell or unhappy.

The provider supported staff wellbeing. They had meetings with staff and contacted them on a regular basis. Staff told us they felt well supported with comments which included, “We work as a team and the managers are very supportive when I need help”, “There is a good response from the management team, and I always feel relaxed” and “When I had difficult personal circumstances the agency helped me, and I like this about them.”

The registered manager explained they had systems to recognise and reward good practice, including ‘employee of the month’ awards and an annual award ceremony for all staff. Some staff were working and living in the United Kingdom for the first time. The provider had developed a welcome pack which outlined information, including safety, transport and what to do in different emergency situations. They also supported staff to find places to live.