Beacon Home Care Services Limited Also known as Beacon Home Care Services Limited Penrith

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 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.

People told us they were treated with respect and dignity.

Relatives described staff responding calmly and professionally in distressing situations. A family member gave an example where their relative had become extremely distressed following a continence issue. They said staff handled the situation sensitively in a calm, matter of fact and reassuring way, and made their relative feel that “it wasn’t a problem”, which the family member described as “really excellent care”.

People spoke positively about the staff and care they received. Several people we spoke with used phrases such as “very caring”, “excellent”, “happy, jolly lasses” and “really good”.

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.

People and their relatives felt staff knew them and their preferences well

A family member explained that having only two regular members of staff was “very helpful” because their relative was more likely to recognise and feel comfortable with them.

Most care plans we reviewed contained information about people’s likes, preferences and personal history. This allowed staff to identify talking points to form rapport and trusting relationships with people, as well as ensure people felt known as an individual.

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

A family member explained that staff encouraged their relative, who lived with dementia, to remain independent by prompting them to shower themselves where possible, while still ensuring care needs were met safely.

People’s choices in daily routines and activities were encouraged and respected by staff, for example staff supporting a person’s attendance at a football match.

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.

The registered manager told us about specific communication needs of a person they were supporting. This involved staff knowing the person well, so they could interpret and respond to the person’s needs in that moment.

Relatives also commented positively on staff commitment during adverse weather or emergencies, with a family member praising carers who “made a real effort” to continue visiting during local flooding. Another said staff “go over and above” when supporting their relative following hospital stays and that “staff are very caring”.

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

Staff meetings, supervisions and appraisals were all available to staff and staff told us they felt supported by management, especially in relation to the registered manager. A member of staff told us, “The managers are good, considerate, listen to concerns and take care of us and the clients.”

Staff told us that they felt the rotas were good and that they always had the contracted hours available to them. A lone working policy and out of hours duty rota was in place to support staff when needed.