Hales Group Limited - Newcastle

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 service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

This is the first assessment of 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 70 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff at the service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. A professional commented, “Staff are kindly and welcoming.” People and relatives were very positive about the caring nature of the organisation and staff. Their comments included, “I am happy with you all, you are all fantastic towards me”, “Everything is going really well, and we are happy with [Name]’s care”, “I do know one of [Name]’s carers is a star” and “[Name] loves all their staff, they are just amazing with [Name]. We would be absolutely lost without them.”

Staff 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. Some people were supported to access the community and were introduced to new experiences and supported with hobbies in order to promote their well-being. Staff had received training in equality and diversity to emphasise the importance of treating people as unique individuals with different and diverse needs. People and their relatives told us staff took time to speak with people during care visits and communicated effectively. A person commented, “Staff do things at my pace, they do not rush me.”

Staff promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People and relatives’ comments included, “Staff do meals for [Name] and always wash their hands first and offer [Name] choices” and “The 2 regular carers always treat me respectfully. They offer me choices about what I want to wear, but I usually put my own clothes out anyway.” Staff supported people to remain as independent as possible and to help improve their quality of life. People’s care records provided guidance for staff. However, further information was needed in care records that detailed the support staff needed to provide and what the person could do themselves to help complete the task and maintain their independence. The registered manager told us this would be addressed.

Staff 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. Most people were supported by staff that were familiar to them which enabled staff to anticipate and meet people’s needs quickly and in ways that reduced and mitigated people’s discomfort and distress.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff provided positive feedback about their experience of working at the service. Staff members’ comments included, “It is a good organisation to work for” and “I get time off when needed.”