Sunderland

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 service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

This is the first inspection of 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 70 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff at the service 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 and relatives were very positive about the caring nature of the organisation and staff. All said it was a, “Very caring service.” Their comments included, “Staff are polite and courteous”, “The staff are very kind and patient, they are excellent” and “Staff listen.”

Staff 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. Staff had received training in equality and diversity to emphasise the importance of treating people as unique individuals with different and diverse needs. People and their relatives told us staff took time to speak with people during care visits and communicated effectively. A relative commented, “The staff member would say to [Name] take your time, we will go at your pace."

Staff promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and well-being. Staff supported people to remain as independent as possible. Staff knew people well. People’s care plans provided some guidance. However, further information was needed in care plans that detailed the support staff needed to provide and what the person could do themselves to help complete the task and maintain their independence. The provider told us this would be addressed.

Staff 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 were supported by staff who were familiar to them, which enabled staff to anticipate and meet people’s needs quickly and in ways that reduced people’s discomfort and distress. A relative commented, “There was a great rapport between [Name] and carer.”

The provider cared about and promoted the well-being of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff told us they felt valued and supported by the management team. They all commented they were encouraged to voice their opinions, ideas and suggestions. They provided very positive feedback about their experience of working at the service. They all said the provider/registered manager was supportive. Their comments included, “I feel respected and supported” and “The registered manager is fantastic, really supportive, friendly, accommodating and approachable.”