Care Navigation

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• 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.

Staff received training in how to treat people with respect. The staff we received feedback from gave us examples of ways they respected people’s dignity in personal care, privacy and courtesy.

Relatives also described ways in which staff treated their family members with care and respected and upheld their privacy and dignity. Comments included, “They have always been polite and respectful to her and obviously care about [Name]” and “They treat [Name] with respect. When they wash her, they let her do as much as she can herself, and they are gentle.”

Relatives told us staff listened to people and tried to meet their wishes and preferences wherever possible. This also extended to other family members.

Staff usually supported the same group of people, which meant they got to know them well and built relationships. Staff spoke about people with kindness and compassion and professionals told us they had found staff to be caring, person-centred and confident in their roles.

One relative told us, “They are so kind. They are kind to [Name]” and another added, “Staff are courteous and polite. They’re lovely and chatty.”
 

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.

Care records included information about people’s needs and preferences, as well as background information which helped staff know how best to support individuals. Staff told us they treated people as individuals, and considered things such as social, cultural, dietary and religious requirements. Staff attended regular meetings where people’s needs and preferences were discussed and reviewed, and updates were shared.

People were encouraged to maintain and develop their independence where possible. One relative told us, “They really encourage [Name] to do as much as she can. There are still things that she can do. She voices her preferences and tells them what she wants to do.”

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 have choice and control where possible. For some people this meant decisions about day to day matters such as what to wear or eat, and others were involved in more complex choices about their care and support. People were able to express preferences about whether they received support from a male or female carer, and this was respected wherever possible.

One relative told us it was not currently possible for a visit to take place at their preferred time in the evening. However, they understood this was due to staff availability, and had been assured that changes were being made to better meet their preference.

Some people were supported to access the local community. This helped promote and support their independence, health and wellbeing and care records included information about people’s interests, routines and important relationships.
 

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.

People’s relatives felt staff were responsive to their family member’s needs. They said staff took action to prevent or reduce discomfort, concern or distress when possible. One relative told us staff had noticed their family member’s skin appeared sore. They said, “They took action straight away so it didn’t get any worse. They were on the ball.”

Recognised assessment tools and measures supported staff to recognise when people needed additional support or care. They contacted other professionals or agencies for support when necessary.

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

On their website, the provider described how they aimed to equip staff with skills, knowledge and support. This included through training, supervision, and financial incentives.
Staff told us they were able to take breaks and were generally supported with their health and wellbeing. Some staff told us they didn’t always have enough time between visits and could feel rushed when travelling.

Staff told us they were encouraged to provide feedback, raise concerns and suggest ways to improve the service. They found managers to be approachable and understanding. One staff member told us the provider was supportive when they needed to work flexibly for a period of time.

We saw the results of a recent staff survey which had been carried out. Feedback was positive overall with staff being ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ in their role. Staff made some suggestions for improvement and the registered manager told us they planned to develop an action plan to address these.