Care 4 U Wolverhampton Limited

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 outstanding. At this assessment the rating has remained outstanding. This meant people were truly respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service.

This service scored 100 (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 was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. Without exception all the feedback we received about the service continued to be overwhelmingly positive. Everyone told us the staff and management team went above and beyond to treat people with kindness and compassion. A person told us, “The standard of personal care is excellent; respectful, private with careful care and compassion.” A relative told us, “The staff are all very respectful, compassionate and very kind.” Feedback also showed staff were respectful and took time to promote people’s privacy and dignity. A person told us, “My staff member is very respectful, and I have a lovely relationship with them.” A relative told us, “As far as I am concerned, the company provide outstanding care; absolutely marvellous. The biggest thing for me was to acknowledge that I needed support, but this was absolutely the right decision as [person’s name] has advanced dementia. The carers are calm, respectful and wonderfully friendly. I trust them as my husband always feel safe in their care.” We saw the staff regularly received compliments and feedback about the support they had given to people. The registered manager logged the comments and shared these with staff. Comments included, “The staff go above and beyond to help,” “I am happy with [staff members name] they come in with a smile and leave with a smile every day.” Comments also confirmed staff were kind, caring, reliable and like family. When speaking to staff they spoke about people with warmth and knew people really well. A staff member told us, “[Person’s name] is palliative, but they are doing ok and we make sure they stay calm when we are there. They like to have their hand stroked whilst we are there which we always do.” Another staff member told us, “[Person’s name] was in receipt of palliative care. I went out to the family when they passed away at 2am to help with washing and dressing the person as the family were so upset.” The staff member went on to share how the relatives had expressed their gratitude for the support from staff. Compliments were shared by other agencies about the service. For example, a health professional said, “ You can tell the staff do care, it’s not just how are they, they say can I make you a cup of tea, they take time to talk and listen to the needs of the service user and it is such a refreshing change to witness a wonderful service. I have had feedback from people and their relatives expressing what a professional and caring team they have found in Care 4 U.” The registered manager told us they recruited staff with the right values for the organisation and took pride in ensuring all staff were supported to build relationships with people and their relatives by allowing staff time to get to know people. This meant people received exceptional support from a kind empathetic team.

The provider continued to treat people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The provider took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. Everyone we spoke with about the service told us the service continued to be exceptional. People told us the staff and management team offered them individualised care and support and were very responsive to their individual needs and preferences. A person told us, “The staff are very responsive to all my care needs, and the office staff also provide a very efficient service.” Relatives told us staff understood people’s individual needs, took time to get to know people, including their life history and preferences. All relatives without exception shared positive examples of how staff supported people. A relative told us, “The staff are respectful and kind to [person’s name]. They respect their dignity and know them really well. We have the same staff every day and it is wonderful for us to have this support. There is a consistent support in place.” The relative went on to describe all the things staff knew about the person and how this helped them provide such a positive care experience. Staff understood people’s needs, preferences and life histories. They were able to speak passionately about all aspects of a person’s life. They understood the need to treat people as individuals and could share examples with us. A staff member said, “[Person’s name] likes things done in a very specific and particular order, we must make sure we don’t rush them and follow their process. They like things done in a certain way and we need to be calm and patient. [Person’s name] has a very specific way of communicating so it is important the same people go to the call which is in place.” Another staff member told us, [Person’s name] is a huge football fan, so I got them to tell me all about their favourite players, designed a folder with information and pictures in around this and used this regularly to have discussions and reminisce, it worked so well we created another folder with other interests from their past and we used them every week to encourage conversation. It was lovely.” The registered manager told us the staff were instrumental in supporting people to maintain their independence. They shared examples of how people’s lives had improved following the support they received from the staff. The registered manager said, “The staff without exception form good relationships with people and have social interactions. For example, [Person’s name] having support meant their relative could have a break, this has been invaluable in supporting them to maintain at [person’s name] at home. They have been much more stable, and we have received lots of compliments and [there has been] improvement in both of their health and wellbeing.” The registered manager told us staff often went above and beyond to treat people as individuals. They gave the example of staff members making sure people have a home cooked meal for special occasions such as birthdays and religious occasions. Care plans showed how people should be supported as individuals and each 1 had been drawn together with the person and those important to them to ensure it would meet their individual needs and outcomes. This meant people received exceptional support to meet their individual needs and outcomes.

The provider continued to be exceptional at promoting people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People and their relatives told us without exception the support they had from the staff enabled them to continue to live an independent life. Everyone without exception felt in control of their care and support. People shared examples of how they were supported to maintain independence with meals, medicines and personal care by having the support they needed included in their care plan and followed by staff. A person told us they felt fully engaged in the planning process, they went on to say, “My care plan is reviewed annually or if there is a change in my care. I like all my carers, get on with them all.” Relatives also shared they felt fully engaged in designing care which enabled people to retain independence. A relative told us, “We were very involved in the care planning process, and completing the assessment, they get to know everything about [person’s name] in this process as well as their care needs, they spent time getting to know them as a person. The process was comprehensive and holistic, not just clinical. I can adjust it as time goes on.” Staff understood how to support people to retain as much independence as possible. Without exception every staff member we spoke to could give examples of how they supported people to retain their independence and make choices. A staff member said, “[Person’s name] is always encouraged to come into the kitchen and decide what they wish to eat.” Staff explained this was important for this person to feel in control of the decisions that were being made. Another staff member told us, “When people say they can’t do something we work with them to build confidence to be able to do things for themselves and often people will thank us for the encouragement to retain their independence and ensure they feel safe. It can be difficult if people feel on edge, it’s important to say I have got you. It is about building confidence.” The registered manager told us, “We involve service user’s [and their] representatives in care delivery as much as possible, promoting independence as much as possible. Even if people feel they are unable to take part in care delivery or any other daily routines we listen, we take it slowly and think of other ways people may be able to achieve things they never thought possible. We also promote people taking the lead in care delivery and just being there to assist as and when required.” Care plans were written to show how people could do things for themselves and the support they may need, giving details about the person. This meant people received exceptional support to maintain their independence.

The provider continued to be exceptional in how they 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. Without exception everyone we spoke with felt the staff and management team went above and beyond to be responsive to people’s immediate needs. People spoke about the flexibility of the staff to change the support to meet with their individual lives. Relatives spoke about how staff adjusted their approach to meet individual needs and were able to see when people needed a change of approach and how they also felt supported. A person told us, “The whole company’s staff on all levels is outstanding. They are all so responsive in all of their responsibilities. We are very impressed with everything.” A relative told us, “The staff are supportive to me too and see things that need doing to help without being asked, such as posting a letter, bringing the dustbin in or popping to the shop. I cannot drive anymore, so the staff are helpful and their encouragement is so good. They understand and are good listeners. I cannot speak highly enough of them.” All staff without exception could give examples of how they had responded to individual needs. They told us the registered manager always sourced support for anyone that needed support and all staff were flexible to offer this help. A staff member told us, “When [person’s name] was unwell I offered them an additional call.” Another staff member told us, “[Person’s name] called to say they thought someone had entered their property, I went straight round and checked and offered them reassurance, they were safe.” Whilst another staff member described how someone had a fall which had left them feeling uneasy, so they arranged to go back following their morning call and prepare some lunch for the person. The staff member added, “I went for my own peace of mind as well, it was important to me to make sure [person’s name] felt safe.” The registered manager told us they were proud of the way staff responded to people. They described staff continually offered additional support when people needed it, often without being prompted. They shared an example of a staff member who stayed with 2 individual service users when a power cut happened. Popping back and forth between the 2 houses to ensure both people were safe. This demonstrated they had gone above and beyond their role to ensure people were safe. The registered manager told us, “We are able to respond to rapid changes in people’s health or needs and requirements. We carry out a new assessment and allocate extra time on staff rota’s if necessary and brief staff of the new changes. Staff members are happy to accommodate the changes and even offer extended availability where ever necessary.” Records supported what everyone told us, and this meant people received exceptionally responsive care and support at the times they needed it.

The provider continued to care about and promote the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care. The registered manager told us they valued their staff team and worked hard to ensure staff felt supported, not just in their role but with any additional issues they may be experiencing. The registered manager said, “There is an incentive scheme in place for staff, and we have a 24-hour support line available to help them with anything they need, including legal advice and emotional support.” The registered manager also told us, “We also provide staff with a 24/7 GP facility, if staff are struggling to obtain a GP appointment quickly enough which is all too common these days, they can call the helpline and speak with the triage team, then expect a call from a GP within 2hours. The GP can prescribe medication if necessary and send to the pharmacy of choice, thus starting any treatment sooner than waiting for their GP appointment.” Staff were very complimentary about the support they received from the registered manager and whole management team. They described feeling valued, happy in their role and feeling like they were a part of something. A staff member told us, “The company is flexible and has an open-door policy. We are all paid to attend training, the salary is above the normal range, they recognise and value staff, we are given bonuses and we are relaxed in the company of the managers.” This meant staff stayed working at the service and people were able to receive support from a consistent staff team, with many having been with the company for many years. People and relatives all told us without exception they felt the staff and management team were well coordinated and they valued the consistency of staff as this enabled person-centred care.