Able Hands Healthcare 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 newly registered 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. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People consistently described staff as kind, caring and compassionate. Feedback from people and their relatives demonstrated that staff took time to build positive relationships, treated people with warmth and respected them as individuals. One person told us, “They are friendly and kind. We joke and laugh,” while another said, “They are kind and caring, always smiling and listen to me.” A relative described staff as “friendly, kind, encouraging, gentle but yet professional.”

People told us staff treated them with dignity and respect and took care to involve them in decisions about their care. One person said staff always explained what they were doing before providing support and sought their consent. Another relative told us staff understood their family member's routines, preferences and wishes and, “treat her as she wants.” Comments such as, “They are almost like family,” reflected the trusting relationships staff had developed while maintaining professional boundaries.

Records and feedback also showed staff worked respectfully with healthcare professionals and other agencies to support positive outcomes for people.

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.

Care plans contained personalised information about people's backgrounds, personal histories, preferences and the people who were important to them, helping staff to deliver person-centred care that respected their individuality and protected characteristics.

People and their relatives told us staff understood what was important to them and took time to get to know people and build positive relationships. One relative told us staff understood their family member's routines, likes and dislikes and “treat them as they want.” Staff supported people to maintain relationships which mattered to them and delivered care in the way people wanted.

People were asked how they wished to be addressed and this was recorded in their care records. Staff used this information to provide care in a way that reflected people's preferences and helped them feel respected, valued and understood.

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

The provider sought to balance safety with independence by supporting people to remain in control of their lives wherever possible. People were encouraged to manage aspects of their own care, including self-administering their medicines where this was safe and in line with their preferences.

Care plans reflected people's strengths, abilities and desired level of independence, identifying areas where they could continue to make their own decisions and maintain control.

People and their relatives told us staff respected their choices and involved them in decisions about their care. One person said staff always explained what they were doing and sought their consent before providing support. A relative told us their family member valued their independence, and staff encouraged them to do as much as possible for themselves.

Staff gave us examples of how they promoted independence and choice in practice. They told us they offered people choices about how and when care was provided, encouraged people to undertake tasks they were able to do themselves and supported people to achieve personal goals. Records also showed staff worked with healthcare professionals, including physiotherapists, to support people to regain skills and confidence following periods of ill health. One relative described how staff followed a physiotherapy plan, supported exercises and encouraged mobility, resulting in their family member progressing from requiring significant support to walking around their home with a frame and using the stairs.

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 and their relatives told us staff were flexible and responsive, taking action to meet needs in a way that promoted wellbeing and reduced anxiety or inconvenience.

Relatives described staff going the extra mile to support people when needed. One relative told us staff had, on several occasions, helped with small shopping requests and collected essential items from local shops when these had been forgotten. They said the service was flexible and worked around people's needs.

Staff knew people well and understood their routines, preferences and priorities. Care plans provided guidance on how people wished to be supported, and people told us staff listened to them, involved them in decisions and adjusted the support provided in response to their wishes. Staff were informed about factors that could cause people anxiety, such as being rushed or not having care explained beforehand, enabling them to provide reassurance and support in a way that met the person's needs.

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

Staff spoke positively about the flexibility offered by the service. They told us the registered manager worked with them to accommodate family commitments and personal circumstances, which helped them maintain a positive work-life balance. Staff also said they felt comfortable speaking to the registered manager if they were unwell and that they received the support they needed during difficult times.

One staff member told us, “I don’t feel stress coming to work. If I have personal issues that mean I’m unable to come to work, I don’t feel scared talking to the manager about it because they are understanding and easy to talk to.”

The supportive culture helped staff feel valued and respected in their roles. Staff told us they could access advice and guidance when needed and felt empowered to focus on providing compassionate, person-centred care that met people's individual needs and preferences.