Care First 24 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 newly registered service. This key question has been rated Outstanding. This meant people were truly respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service.

This service scored 95 (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 was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

The provider demonstrated that kindness and compassion ran throughout the business. Their systems and processes supported this to ensure people were at the centre of their care and received kindness compassion and dignity. The provider cared about the people they supported, and their passion was also demonstrated through staff, and the way they spoke about people. The provider told us, “Someone allowing you to look after their loved one is the biggest honour ever.” Staff organised birthday parties for people, including one at the providers office for one person who had a big birthday celebration.

People and their relatives gave exceptionally positive feedback about the service. Including how the proactive care they had received had impacted their lives in a positive way. The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

Relatives told us that they felt staff had time to spend with people and were exceptionally kind. A relative told us, “They want to give the best care they can.” Relatives also told us that staff were kind and caring. They told us, “My son is always happy around them. He is happy, smiling and relaxed,” and “They are of a different calibre, mum has been treated very well by staff.” This enabled relatives and loved ones to feel they could leave their loved one with staff and they would cared for exceptionally well.

A healthcare professional told us, “Yes. This provider goes above and beyond. The staff are very caring in their daily input. The provider has measures in place to provide additional support to the service user’s support network/informal carers in order to ensure that there is rapport within those that provide formal and informal care.”

The provider treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The provider took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

People were truly at the heart of the care provided by Care First 24. Care packages were designed around people’s individual needs, likes and preferences. When new staff were needed for packages, where possible the provider organised for people and their loved ones to be involved in the recruitment process to ensure they were the right fit for the person. A relative told us, “They were quite selective, they honoured her preferences.” Staff considered people’s individuality and supported them to be themselves. For example one person wanted to ‘look cool’ for an exciting day out they had planned, and staff supported them to do this.

People were celebrated for their individuality and their own strengths. Each person had goals and aspirations they worked towards, and these were documented within people’s care plans. Where people were not able to communicate these to staff, staff used their knowledge of the person, what they enjoyed and cared about to help set and achieve people’s goals. Some people had advanced needs, needing support from multiple staff members. However, the provider told us it was important to them and staff that this did not hold people back from achieving the things they wanted to. The provider told us, “We ensure that they still get to do all the things they love to do still.”

Relatives told us that staff treated their loved ones as individuals and gave them the time to ensure their voice was heard. Relatives told us, “No, he never feels rushed.”

The provider was exceptional at promoting people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People enjoyed an increased sense of independence, choice and control because staff didn’t just encourage autonomy, they treated it as a basic human right. Staff understood each person on a deep, personal level, and used that insight to remove obstacles that once limited them. As a result, people were empowered to make meaningful decisions about every part of their daily lives, in ways that truly reflected who they were and what mattered to them. This was demonstrated by people being supported to move into accommodation of their choosing and taking part in activities which were meaningful to them. Things that had previously been out of reach were now everyday experiences for people, such as going on outings to pursue their hobbies.

The provider and staff understood the importance of people having maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff told us how they encouraged people to increase their independence, by encouraging them to carry out household tasks such as washing up after a meal and supporting people to go out and do their food shopping.

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 and their relatives shared that staff had an in depth understanding of each person and were quick to notice and respond to any changes, supported by detailed and continually updated care plans. Families told us that when their loved one became unwell, staff consistently went the extra mile to make sure they received the care and support they needed. A healthcare professional told us, “Yes, this provider, in my experience of working with them, is very responsive not only to commissioners and case managers but also to people and their next of kin.” A relative told us how staff were alert to changes with their loved one and escalated these promptly.

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff received exceptional support with their wellbeing. There was a wellbeing team that supported staff with all aspects of their lives including work and personal. The provider employed a clinical psychologist who provided therapy support sessions for staff. One staff member told us they had accessed these when they had experienced distress. The provider told us, “We can’t expect staff to look after people unless we look after them.”

When needed, staff were supported with ‘mental health days’ which the provider told us staff sometimes used, for example if a person they were supporting passed away. The provider told us, “We can’t expect staff to just be OK the next day. They need time to process the loss and can access the clinical psychologist at any time.”

Staff were supported to follow their passions. One staff member was supported to become the wellbeing champion, and complete mental health first aid training. They used this to start a lunchtime walking group to support staff’s mental health.