Storm Homecare Limited

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

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 made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

People received care specific to their needs. People’s care plans contained information tailored to their needs which supported staff to provide personalised care.

People and their relatives were regularly consulted to undertake care plan reviews, and ensure the service was delivering the most appropriate level of care.

Relatives told us they were kept informed about people’s changing needs, or adjustments to the staff team. One relative said, “[Registered manager] informs us of any changes.”

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

People received care and support from a small team of staff. This meant people got to know the staff delivering their care, and there was enough competent and trained staff to cover all the care visits for the person.

Staff received specific training for people’s individual needs and thorough induction both to the service, and to the person they would be working with. The provider also offered a meet and greet service to allow people to meet new members of their small care team on a few occasions, before the staff member commenced care delivery.

The management team worked closely with commissioners to ensure they were providing the care people were being funded for, and to request additional funding on a case-by-case basis if this was required to deliver more support to a person whose needs had changed.

People were supported to access other services, and the provider supported with this where applicable to ensure a joined-up approach.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

People received information in the way that best suited their needs. Staff understood and respected people’s cultures and preferred languages. Where English was not a person’s first language, the provider ensured there was a member of staff looking after the person that could speak their preferred language. One person said, “[Staff] understand our culture, they understand about us being Hindu.”

Communication care plans were present in all people’s care records, this provided guidance and information on how people preferred to communicate. This included actions or movements for people who had limited verbal communication.

Staff were able to describe how people’s personal information was kept securely.

The provider understood the Accessible Information Standards and explained how they shared information with people in a way that was accessible for them. The service user handbook could be printed in large print if required, and 1 person preferred their letters to be typed in Gujarati. The registered manager confirmed their complaints procedure was predominantly in picture format.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

People, relatives and staff told us the management team listened to them. People found the management team to be responsive. One person said, “I know the Manager and Deputy Manager. I like them, they are straight forward. If I send an email they get straight back to me.”

People and their relatives knew how to raise a complaint and had access to the complaints policy.

The registered manager regularly spoke with people and their relatives to keep an open line of communication. They found this helped people to feel confident to be able to pick up the phone to raise any small issues to enable the provider to resolve the issue at an early stage before it could escalate into a full-scale complaint.

Staff were very complimentary about the management team approach to listening to them. One staff member stated, “The Management team at Storm Home care is very supportive. They maintain open lines of communication 24/7”

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

People received a flexible and reliable service. The management team explained people’s care visits could be amended to suit any commitments or appointments they had.

People said they were contacted if their carer was running late, or there were any changes to the allocation of staff.

People had access to an oncall service which was operated by the management team outside of office hours and at the weekend.

Whilst the provider’s office was located on the first floor, they also had an accessible room on the ground floor to meet with people who wanted to visit the office.

The provider had a robust business continuity plan which detailed what they should do in the event of an emergency which impacted on service delivery, such as a power cut.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who were most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Staff had received training in discrimination indicators and knew how to identify and challenge discrimination.

The registered manager explained how there had been barriers to care for people and it was hard to obtain information from their GP surgeries. The provider had taken active steps to resolve this and had signed up to GP Connect, which is an online system to support the sharing of information.

The registered manager explained their upcoming project was to focus on people from the LGBTQ+ community, and to support both people and staff to tackle the inequalities they face.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

The registered manager advised at the time of the inspection, no one was receiving support in their final days. However, they were able to explain how they had approached this sensitive matter in the past. They explained the overall goal was to ensure people felt comfortable at this stage of their life, and that relatives felt confident in the care of their loved one. The registered manager understood different cultures, and advised staff respected families wishes, and would do as much or as little as the person or the family requested.