First Choice Carers 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 service 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 respect. People and their relatives told us staff were caring. Their comments included, “Staff are kind, caring and treat [person] with dignity” and “Care workers spend time talking and connecting with [person] which encourages [them] to feel at ease.”

Staff spoke respectfully about the people they were caring for. They demonstrated they had good relationships with them. The language and terms used in care plans were respectful and personalised.

Staff treated people as individuals. At the time of our assessment, the agency provided staff from the same cultural background and who spoke the same language for everyone using the service. People told us this was important to them. A relative commented, “Care is personalised to [person’s] needs and culture.”

Staff told us they worked with people and their families to understand their individual needs. A relative confirmed this and explained, “Staff support focused on comfort and companionship.”

Managers explained they supported some people with activities outside their homes. They told us they had seen improvements to people’s emotional wellbeing because of this.

Some people had sensory impairments. Staff described how they supported people to meet their needs. For example, giving clear verbal prompts and explaining what they were doing to help people feel safe.

Staff offered people choices and made sure they were in control of their care. People using the service and their relatives explained they were involved in making decisions and well informed about any changes. People confirmed they were offered choices during each care visit.

Staff supported people to be independent. Care plans included information about what people could do for themselves and how to encourage people to be independent. Staff helped people to be involved in different activities, including supporting some people to spend time out of their homes.

Staff responded to people’s immediate needs. People and their relatives told us staff were attentive when they were unwell or required medical support. Staff made referrals to the GP and other services when they recognised people needed this.

The provider prioritised staff wellbeing. Staff told us they felt supported, received praise for their work and could approach managers when needed. A staff member explained, “I feel supported in my role and can speak with my manager if needed.” Staff took part in individual and group meetings with managers. These included discussions about their wellbeing.