Everlife (Swindon)

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

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 made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

People spoke positively about the care they received and said this was in line with their preferences. Staff had received training in person-centred care and had a good understanding. They gave examples of how they had supported people in this way and how they tailored their approach depending on people’s needs.

People’s care plans were not always fully personalised. However, the registered manager was aware of this and had recently introduced a new care planning system which would address this.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity. People told us leaders were flexible with their care arrangements, for example changing visit times to accommodate appointments. Comments included, “They are very flexible, they sometimes stay much longer” and “Staff come on time, they are flexible and will come early if needed.”

People benefited from a small and stable staff team.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

People were provided with information about how to contact the office. Staff gave examples of how they had adapted their communication style to meet people’s needs. For example, one staff member said, “We adjust communication to each person, for example a person might not like to wear hearing aids, we come to their level, talk facing them so they can read your lips. Everyone is totally different. We tailor care to a particular person.”

One person also gave an example of how leaders had adapted a communication method to suit the person’s needs. They commented, “They write me a timetable for visits as I’m not on computer, so they write me my personal one which is good as I can keep referring to it.”

Staff had received training in effective communication. People had information in their care plans about how they communicated, however this was limited. For example, one person’s communication preferences stated ‘speaking’. We raised this with the registered manager for them to address.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

People said they knew how to complain if needed. There was a detailed complaints policy in place. Where complaints had been raised, these were responded to appropriately and in line with the policy.

People were regularly asked for feedback about their care. One person commented, “They check in with me every few months.”

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

People received their care visits at the scheduled time and felt able to access support from the office. Staff supported people to access healthcare where needed.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

There were no concerns raised in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion. There was an equality, diversity and inclusion policy in place. Care plans had regard to people’s protected characteristics.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

The registered manager told us, “If we were taking on end of life support, we would sit down with them and try to target what’s important. We know the package may increase. We then do our version of a Respect form, recording the person’s choices.” Staff had received training in end-of-life care. The registered manager told us they had supported 1 person on end-of-life care for 2 years.