Hedgerow Homecare

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.

Staff treated people with kindness and compassion. People and their relatives told us they liked the staff. They had the same regular care workers. They had good relationships with care workers. Comments from people using the service and their relatives included, “[Care workers] are nice people, very sociable and we have a good chat”, “They are lovely”, “My care worker is absolutely first class. [They] will do anything for us” and “The care worker is kind and gentle.”

People’s preferences for care staff were recorded. For example, if they wanted to be cared for by a specific gender of staff. The provider arranged for people to meet different care workers and share their views about who they felt most comfortable with for ongoing care.

People told us their privacy was respected. They told us staff respected their home environments and were polite to their relatives.

The provider treated people as individuals. Managers assessed and recorded information about people’s culture, religion, background and the things that were important to them. People were supported by the same regular care workers. Some people told us they had been cared for by the same staff for many years. A relative commented, “The staff go above and beyond. They know [person] and [their] habits. They are brilliant.” Another relative explained the care workers had started to learn the person’s first language so they could communicate with them using this.

People and their relatives explained staff met and understood their individual needs.

The provider ensured people retained independence, choice and control. People explained staff offered them choices and respected their decisions.

Staff supported people with independent living skills such as cooking and shopping when this was their choice and it was safe to do so. People told us staff followed exercise programmes and worked with therapists to support them to stay active and mobile. Comments from people and their relatives included, “My mobility has improved since the staff started helping me”, “I am impressed with the way in which they help me with exercises” and “The carers have really helped me get moving.”

Staff responded to people’s immediate needs. Staff were prompt to act when they identified a person was unwell or needed extra help. The provider made referrals to external professionals and contacted GPs when needed. Staff had responded well in emergency situations, calling for medical assistance and sharing information with emergency medical teams. A relative explained, “One of the care workers found a [mark on person’s skin]. They called the doctor immediately. I feel confident with the care worker.” Another relative told us care workers discussed concerns with them. They said, “If there are any issues or they are worried, they contact us. They are highly responsive and always do the best for [person].”

The provider ran an out of hours on-call service, which people, their relatives and staff could use if they needed to speak with a manager.

The provider supported workforce wellbeing and enablement. Staff told us they felt supported and enjoyed working for the agency. They explained managers were available and responsive when they needed them. Staff had regular supervision meetings with managers to discuss their work and wellbeing. Comments from staff included, “I feel incredibly supported. I am heard and listened to”, “If I need advice or have any concerns, I can contact the office and hey are always willing to help” and “When I started work, I was new in the UK and knew nothing about the local area. The office helped me and booked a taxi when I was lost.”

The provider recognised and celebrated staff achievements and hard work through a ‘care worker of the month’ scheme. They provided support for staff to learn new skills and progress in their careers with additional training and responsibilities.