Altogether Care - Care At Home Limited Salisbury

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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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.

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.

All of the people we spoke to told us care was good and they liked their regular carers.

Comments included “Care is fantastic, the staff are fantastic” and “They’re fine, they’re lovely. They know exactly what to do. They even know how to make a cup of tea the way I like it”.

All the people we spoke to, told us staff protected they privacy and dignity. This meant staff were working in line with national best practice standards.

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 records contained details of how to support people and their likes and preferences. We saw details about people’s life history, which staff we spoke to were aware of. Office staff knew who people were and could identify them from limited information. Staff told us about people’s individual preferences, giving choice and how they supported people in their preferred way. We spoke to staff who told us they knew their clients well, but if there was ever anything they needed to know, they would find it on the digital care planning application on their mobile phone.

Feedback from people was mostly positive. Comments from people included “They appreciate that sometimes they might be the only person you see in a day and have time for a chat”, “They understand that some days you can be up, some down They’ve got time for you” and “They know me and know what to do, always ask is it all right before they do anything.” When we asked people what the impact of this was, one person said “It makes me feel good, I’m not just a visit in the day for someone”.

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

Care records contained details of what support people required from staff and what they could do independently. Daily care notes showed staff were offering prompts and positive encouragement for tasks they knew were achievable for people. Support approaches were adapted daily based on how people were feeling on the day. People confirmed this, comments included “Carers know what my limits are” and “I can still do some things for myself and carers are ok with that”. People told us the impact of this was empowering. Leaders told us the provider always tried to encourage people to be as independent as possible.

Staff told us they supported people to be as independent as they could by asking what they wanted to achieve on the day. This included ways they supported a person to take their medicines and how people had control over their personal care support.

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 knew them well and that care met their needs.

Comments included “They know my likes and dislikes”, “They are person centred in their approach with me” and “Altogether Care come to give me a break from caring, I am happy to leave staff with my relative”.

During the inspection we saw care plans contained up to date information. One person recently became at risk of falls. The provider immediately updated guidance for staff on how to support this person. When reviewing care notes, office staff also noticed a change to a person’s responses. Staff then telephoned the person to talk about their care and wellbeing. These changes were then added to the person’s care interventions . This meant staff had the information needed to support people with their immediate changing needs.

The provider did not always care about or promote the wellbeing of theirstaff anddid not always support and enable them to deliverperson centredcare.

We spoke to several staff who raised concerns about sponsored staff being treated differently from non‑sponsored colleagues. Comments included, “Sponsorship staff are expected to work every weekend,” and “Non‑sponsored staff have a weekend on and a weekend off.” Staff told us this created a sense of unfairness within teams and contributed to feelings of fatigue, low morale, and limited opportunities for rest.

These differences in rota expectations were perceived by staff as undermining the organisation’s commitment to supporting staff wellbeing.

We spoke to managers who described several systems in place to support staff wellbeing. This included the ability to consider reasonable adjustments to working patterns where needed, staff well-being checks and a staff portal which provided well-being resources.

Staff in the office told us the new manager was open, and they were able to share any concerns they had. Staff said they were confident the new manager would act on any issues and were invited to meetings to share concerns and best practices.