Aspirations Staffordshire

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 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.

Relatives told us staff were kind and caring. One relative said, “Staff know [person] well and are kind to [person].” Another relative said, “Staff are definitely caring and they listen to my views.”

We observed staff communicating politely and respectfully with families and external agencies and staff told us they felt they treated people with dignity and respect. A staff member told us, “I care deeply about getting things right for thepeople we support.”

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.

People’s care records were individualised and person‑centred, reflecting all their needs in a holistic way. Individualised contingency plans were in place for each person to ensure continuity of support during unforeseen incidents. People were supported in a way that was appropriate to their own preferences and enabled them to feel valued.

Staff knew how to support people in line with their needs and one staff member told us, “The focus is always on providing person-centred care.” Another staff member told us, “I meet individuals cultural, social and religious needs by understanding their preferences through support plans and communication. I respect their beliefs and make adjustments as required to ensure people feel supported, included and valued.”

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 demonstrated how they promoted people’s independence; they provided people with information in a way that they would be able to understand so they could be involved in their own care, such as easy read documents. Easy read is a way of showing written information using images and simplified text to make it easier to understand.

Staff provided people with choices in a way that was suitable for them. One staff member told us, “[Person] does very well with choices; if given two choices with a meal, [person] will choose one of these.”

We visited some people in their own homes and saw how staff were working with people to enable and promote people’s independence.

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 had detailed Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) care plans in place to clearly guide staff on how to support people when they displayed any signs of distress. Staff received training and support on how to help people during times of distress. A PBS practitioner was employed by the service who supported with the behaviour care plans and provided any necessary support to people and staff after incidents.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported them to deliver person‑centred care.

Most staff we contacted told us they felt their wellbeing was valued and supported by the provider. Although 2 members of staff said they did not always feel their wellbeing was promoted, the provider had a range of initiatives in place to support staff. These included access to a variety of health and wellbeing apps, staff referral bonuses, and staff recognition awards.

Staff feedback demonstrated these initiatives were meaningful and helped create a positive workplace culture. One staff member told us, “I recently received a ‘Rising Star’ Award for the work I have been doing with [person] with regards to [person’s] communication.” Another said, “I really value working in a supportive environment where staff genuinely care not only about the people we support but also about one another.”

This showed the provider recognised and rewarded good practice and promoted a supportive, caring culture. While not all staff experiences were the same, the overall approach helped maintain staff morale and supported staff to provide person‑centred care.