Radfield Home Care Guildford & Woking

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 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 consistently demonstrated an exceptional commitment to treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion. Respect for people's privacy, dignity and individuality was fully embedded within the culture of the service and consistently reflected in the experiences shared by people, relatives and professionals. Staff were clear about the providers vision and expectations of the support they provided and demonstrated kindness and respect in their interactions with colleagues and partner organisations, promoting positive and collaborative working relationships.

Feedback from relatives was overwhelmingly positive and reflected a staff team who consistently went above and beyond to ensure people felt valued, respected and genuinely cared about. Relatives described staff as compassionate, responsive and willing to do whatever was needed to support people. One relative told us, “I would say they go above and beyond. It’s just the way the staff are with [family member], I can’t praise them enough. They always ask if there is anything else they can do. They check we are happy with everything and are very accommodating. There have been a few times I have asked for additional calls at the last minute, and they have always put them in.”

We saw evidence of staff taking highly personalised approaches to building meaningful and trusting relationships with people. Staff invested time in understanding what was important to people and used this knowledge to create experiences which were significant to them. Examples included one staff member researching and learning the music and words to a person's favourite hymn so they could sing it together. Family members took recordings of this touching moment which brought the person comfort during a difficult time. Another staff member sourced a model-making kit after learning about a person's previous interest in model making and spending time building it with them. This helped the person return to a hobby they had previously enjoyed and enabled a positive, understanding relationship to develop with the staff member supporting them. These thoughtful acts demonstrated a culture where people were valued and enabled to remain connected to interests, hobbies and experiences that were important to their sense of identity.

Relatives consistently described the positive impact the kindness, compassion and support shown by staff had on both them and their loved ones. Feedback demonstrated the support provided enhanced people's wellbeing, promoted independence and gave relatives reassurance and confidence. One relative told us, “None of this is easy, but their care and constant support and knowledge has made it possible for us.” Another said, “It really does help us all as a family and means we can carry on. It gives me respite and reassurance. I can trust [family member] is safe, cared for and that they all have [family member's] best interests at heart.”

Staff demonstrated a clear and consistent understanding that dignity, privacy and respect should be at the heart of the support they provided. They were knowledgeable about the importance of maintaining confidentiality and protecting people's personal information. Staff provided clear examples of how they promoted dignity and privacy whilst supporting people with personal care, and relatives confirmed staff treated both people and their homes with respect. This helped people feel comfortable, valued and supported in a way that respected their choices, preferences and individuality.

The provider consistently placed people at the centre of their care, support and treatment and demonstrated an exceptional commitment to ensuring people's individual needs, preferences, aspirations and life experiences shaped the support they received. Care was delivered in a way which recognised and valued people's strengths, abilities, cultural backgrounds, protected characteristics and what mattered most to them as individuals.

Staff invested demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting people to maintain meaningful relationships, pursue interests and participate in experiences that were important to them. The service had fully embedded the Radfield 'Be There' movement within its culture which promoted people's sense of identity, purpose and connection with others. Regular 'Be There' meetings enabled staff to explore creative ways of helping people achieve their personal goals and aspirations, while a dedicated monthly grant supported events and activities that were meaningful to the people they supported.

We found numerous examples of how this person-centred approach improved people's experiences and promoted inclusion, choice and independence. Staff had brought together a small group of people to attend a local air show, enabling them to enjoy a shared interest, develop social connections and reduce isolation. Feedback around the day was extremely positive with people saying how much they had enjoyed sharing this opportunity. Staff recognised how important one person's garden was to their wellbeing and supported them to paint their planters in the way they wished. This enabled the person to continue this pastime whilst maintaining choice and control over something that was important to them. The management team told us the person spent time looking over their garden and showed them with pride when they visited. On another occasion, staff recognised the significance of an event attended by people who had played an important role in a person's life. Although the person could not attend independently, support was arranged promptly to enable them to take part. This ensured they could maintain important relationships, reconnect with people who knew them well and continue participating in a community that remained important to their sense of identity.

Discussions with the management team, staff and relatives consistently demonstrated an embedded culture where people were known and valued as individuals rather than being defined by their care needs. Staff spoke with warmth and enthusiasm about the people they supported and demonstrated a detailed knowledge of their interests, preferences and life histories. Relatives described the positive impact this had on people's experiences. One relative told us, "[Staff member] has made a real effort to get to know [family member's] interests. [Family member] loves to sit and watch old movies, and they will sit and watch them together which is exactly what [family member] wants."

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

Relatives told us staff were encouraging and supportive in promoting people’s independence. One relative told us, “To be honest, it’s my [family member] getting the help but it actually keeps us both independent. The [staff] are very encouraging with [family member] and know what [they] can do.”

Staff members understood the importance of promoting people’s independence and promoting choice and control. One staff member told us, “Each part of people’s care plans start with asking about choice and consent. We would always respect client’s wishes.”

Care plans highlighted areas where people were able to complete aspects of their care and support independently. This helped staff to understand people’s preferences and the importance of ensuring people’s independence was maintained.

The provider was exceptional in how they 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.

Relatives told us staff were always focussed on ensuring people’s comfort, checking on their well-being and asking if there was any more, they needed from them. One relative told us, “Because they have got to know [relative] so well, they can see subtle changes and respond to them. That’s important to us and reassuring.”

The management team demonstrated their commitment to providing responsive care by ensuring they actively listened to people’s wishes and provided the support they required. They were able to share examples of how they had stepped in to ensure people’s immediate needs were responded to in a highly personalised way. When one person became acutely ill the management team personally provided their care through the night, as they were clear they did not want to go to hospital. They strongly advocated for the person to be referred to the ‘Hospital at Home’ service and arranged live-in care at short notice. This enabled the person to remain at home as they wished. Healthcare professionals praised the intervention of the service and the positive impact this had on the person’s health and in maintaining their autonomy. The person’s family told us, “We literally would have been lost without them. They just listened, took charge and made it happen. We honestly can’t thank them enough.”

Staff regularly went above and beyond to ensure people felt safe and cared about. Examples included staff stepping in when a person felt unsafe in their home. Due to a fault, an alarm in the building where the person lived was repeatedly sounding which was making them feel anxious. As the fault could not be repaired until the following morning, volunteered to stay with them overnight. Through the flexibility and systems embedded by the management team along with the kindness of staff the person received the reassurance and support they needed to feel safe.

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 told us they felt valued in their roles and empowered to provide the best care for the people they supported. One staff member told us, “They (management team) are honestly all just so nice and helpful. They always say thank you and make you feel good.” A second staff member told us, “I couldn’t work anywhere I didn’t believe in what I was doing. I have that here and they [management team] believe in it too. I love what I do.”

There was a strong emphasis on staff well-being and appreciation throughout all our conversations with the provider and management team. They took time to ensure staff were introduced during the inspection and discussed the importance of each staff members role in providing a highly personalised service to people and their relatives. It was clear staff felt valued and took pride in both working for the organisation and in their day-to-day roles. The provider and wider management team spoke of staff with great respect, kindness and pride for the support they offered people and the way they conducted themselves.

The provider recognised the importance of having a consistent staff team who demonstrated commitment and understanding of the aims of the service. As a team, they had reviewed their recruitment and induction processes to ensure staff felt fully supported. This involved the management team having an informal discussion with applicants prior to interview to ensure they were aware of the values of the service and understood the expectations of the role. This was further embedded as part of the induction process when staff would spend 2 days learning how the service operated and the principles of the organisation alongside the manager. Staff would then shadow a senior staff member to complete care calls whilst also having weekly calls with a member of the management team as their buddy. This enhanced approach had led to an exceptionally low turnover rate and a staff team who were fully engaged in providing people with good, highly personalised care and support. The manager told us, “It’s about setting the bar for staff and then nurturing and helping them grow to reach it.”

The staff team were supported and empowered in a variety of ways. A staff charter had been developed to highlight the way the service would support and respect the team, so expectations were clear. Regular supervision was used to discuss areas of good practice, reflect on challenges and review any additional training or support needs. Staff told us they found supervision useful and enabling. One staff member said, “I very much enjoy it here. They care about their carers. If you need any advice, shadowing or training they will be straight there.”

In addition, the provider had set up a recognition scheme for the staff team, ‘Caring for Carers’. This was promoted amongst the team and awards of appreciation shared in monthly staff meetings. The manager told us they also wanted to acknowledge the work of staff in small ways, this included making deliveries of ice-cream and cold water to staff and people during the heatwave. The manager told us, “We just wanted them to know we were thinking of them and understood how difficult it was.”