Acorn Care Solutions 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 told us staff were kind, caring and had formed positive working relationships with them. They said staff treated them with dignity and respect. They told us staff understood their daily routines, did not rush them and promoted their privacy when providing support with personal care. One person commented, “(Staff member) is lovely and knows exactly what I need.”

Staff spoke warmly about people and were motivated in their role. Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and told us they took pride in delivering good quality care. One staff member told us, “The best part of being a carer is knowing I’ve done it (provided care) well that the client is clean, comfortable, and all their needs are met.”

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’s care plans documented their preferences around their personal care and daily routines. This included details of any cultural, spiritual or religious needs relevant to their care. People’s communication needs were assessed and documented in their care plans. Staff had a good understanding of how to adopt an individualised approach to supporting people. One staff member told us, “I try to make conversation first, ask how they feel before slowly introduce personal care. (Person) responds a lot better if they are not rushed and feel in control.”

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

People told us the provider respected their choices and preferences around staff. This included when they requested specific staff or wished certain staff to be excluded. One person told us, “I have ladies (female staff) three times a day, I only have ladies, I asked for that and its only ladies that come.”

Staff were motivated in supporting people to remain as independent as they wished. They were intuitive to people’s needs and respectful of their personal boundaries. Staff comments included, “Building trust and supporting people to live as independently and safely as possible is very rewarding” and “I really enjoy helping people and making a difference in their lives. I feel proud when clients are comfortable, happy, and safe.”

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 told us staff were responsive to their immediate needs. For example, providing extra support if they were struggling or responding if they had a fall or injury by contacting emergency services. One person told us how they were supported to see a GP by staff after they reported an issue with their leg. Another person told us staff helped them to find a pharmacy and collected their medicines for them when they ran out of supply.

Staff had a good knowledge around people’s needs and were able to give examples where they had acted responsively to help keep people safe or support their wellbeing.

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

We received feedback from 18 staff. They told us they felt supported and valued in their role. Comments included, “We often work alone, but I never feel like I’m on my own. We work as a team” and “(Senior staff are) really supportive and always happy to help.”

The provider sent out feedback questionnaires to staff. The results of the most recent survey were positive in most areas. There was evidence the provider acted in response to staff feedback to improve staff's wellbeing. One staff member told us, “Senior employees are kind and helpful. they offer direction, oversight, and frequent feedback.”