Abacus Healthcare Ltd

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.

People consistently described staff as kind, friendly and caring and said they had developed positive relationships with them.

Staff demonstrated a person-centred understanding of privacy and dignity. They understood the importance of explaining what they were doing, maintaining people’s privacy during personal care and respecting confidentiality. Staff spoke positively about their relationships with people and saw getting to know them, providing companionship and supporting their independence as important parts of their role.

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure 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 told us they were treated as individuals and valued the support they received. They said staff knew their routines and preferences, respected their choices and adapted care to reflect what mattered to them. People also valued that staff took an interest in their lives, families and interests.

People’s communication needs were documented in their care plans, including any reasonable adjustments needed to help them communicate effectively and express their wishes and preferences. The provider demonstrated a good understanding of the Accessible Information Standard and the need to identify, record and meet people’s communication needs.

People’s cultural, spiritual and religious needs were also recorded in their care plans, including any adjustments needed to respect their beliefs and preferences. This helped ensure care reflected people’s individual needs, preferences and values.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care.

People’s care plans detailed the support they required with personal care, including tasks they could complete independently. This helped staff provide the right level of support while promoting people’s independence.

Where people raised concerns about staff compatibility, the provider took action to address these or arrange alternative staff. Daily care records showed people’s preferences and choices were respected, including allocating preferred staff where possible.

Staff understood the importance of promoting independence rather than doing things for people. They gave examples of encouraging people to complete aspects of their own personal care, help prepare meals and make choices about meals, clothing, drinks and daily routines. One staff member said their approach was to work around people’s preferences “rather than making them fit our routine.” Staff also supported people to maintain social contact, participate in activities and retain or develop skills, helping to promote independence and reduce social isolation.

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 gave examples of staff responding promptly when they needed additional help. Staff had remained with people when they became unwell, supported them to seek emergency assistance and provided reassurance. People also said staff were flexible and provided the support they needed.

Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s individual needs and responded when their wellbeing, behaviour or mood changed. Where people were reluctant to engage with care, staff worked patiently to reassure them and introduced support gradually at a pace that suited the person. This helped reduce risks to people’s health and wellbeing.

People, relatives, professionals and staff could contact senior staff during and outside office hours. The registered manager operated an on-call telephone system, ensuring management support was available in emergencies or when urgent decisions were required.

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

Staff told us they felt supported in their roles. They had regular work patterns and said senior staff were responsive to concerns or requests they raised. The registered manager took steps to support staff wellbeing, including minimising travel time between visits and giving staff some choice about the people they supported.

Lone working risk assessments were in place to help keep staff safe while carrying out their duties. These considered staff safety when working alone in people’s homes, including the safety and accessibility of properties. Staff also had access to senior support through the provider’s telephone on-call service. This helped reduce risks to staff and ensure appropriate support was available when needed.