Wigan Supported Living

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 that we spoke with were positive about the care and support provided. In summary, they felt staff treated people with dignity, kindness and people’s preferences were respected. One person said, “the manager is really good and like a second mum to [relative]” whilst another relative said “[staff member] is like a family member and I would have no hesitation of speaking with them if I had any concerns.”

We observed how staff clearly knew people well, communicated with them effectively and were caring, respectful and compassionate in their approach.

Leaders told us they were assured staff interacted well with people. Staff and leaders explained how they were visible throughout services and checked compassionate care was being provided.

Care records were mainly written in a dignified and respectful way. One care record described how a person would be supported with a bed bath or shower, with a large emphasis on how staff would safeguard the person’s dignity.

The provider had guidance on cultural traditions which staff could follow. This included diet, etiquette and fasting, festivals and important dates, medical and nursing considerations, when death was imminent and after death considerations. Various faiths were covered in the guidance and we saw evidence the service had celebrated events such as Easter, Christmas and Chinese New Year.

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.

Staff prioritised understanding the preferences of the person. One staff member explained to us how the service was always learning new things about the person they supported, and this was updated in their care plan. Managers and staff understood people’s protected characteristics and provided care which met those needs.

Within people’s care records was a one-page profile which detailed what was important to them, what people liked and admired about them, how best to support them and their support preferences. In addition to this, there were documents which outlined what a ‘good day’ and a ‘good week’ looked like for the person.

One person told us how they had been supported to pursue educational courses at the local college whilst a staff member explained how the person they supported wanted to complete a list of events before a milestone age.

We observed how people’s bedrooms were decorated in their favourite colours and how they had pictures or photographs on their walls.

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

The service involved people and/or their relatives in making choices and having control over their care. We spoke with a person who had recently started to administer their own medication with the support of staff, following years of being supported with doing so by district nurses. The person emphasised how much this had impacted on their life in a positive way.

The service enabled people to remain independent and connected with people and activities which were important to them. Since arriving at the service, one person now attended a sports group on a weekly basis and has been supported to find work in the local community.

People were supported to achieve their personal goals in relation to their care, treatment and wellbeing. Each person’s care record included aspirations and goals they had for the future. Staff evidenced people had achieved these goals or were on the way to doing so from photographs and memorabilia. A person we spoke to was in the process of completing multiple goals before a milestone age whilst staff had booked a pantomime for another person to fulfil their aspirations.

People were involved in decisions related to their home and living arrangements. One of the people supported, with the help of his support staff, had painted his own lounge whilst we saw other people with décor which reflected their personalities. Another person enjoyed having visitors but had requested anyone who does visit to provide a written request prior to doing so which staff and other professionals adhered to. The service also allowed people who could support them, to have animals so one person we spoke to had cats.

People were supported to socialise and see their visitors. We observed a person and their friend engaging in a conversation outside in the garden, staff were respectful and allowed them privacy.

The provider had a personal relationships and sexuality policy which staff could follow. The leaders spoke about people being able to have choice and control regarding intimate relationships. The service worked closely with specialist services around this. Staff told us there were people who had relationships with one another who were based at the locations.

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.

The provider ensured there were plans in place to manage anticipated declines in health needs including crisis plans. The provider had a missing persons policy, self-harm, risk mitigation and prevention policy and a suicide prevention policy.

Several people who used the service had PBS (Positive Behaviour Support) plans in place which provided a person-centred, proactive approach used to understand and manage challenging behaviours, particularly in individuals with learning disabilities or autism.

The service had clear escalation procedures, a manager on shift 7 days a week and an on-call system. They had a float system and shifts in which people slept overnight which allowed for additional staff to be available as and when required.

The leaders and staff prided themselves on the continuity of care and building a consistent team around people to ensure they were able to get to know them and recognise if something was wrong. We saw evidence of this when we spoke with people and their staff. For example, a person who had limited vocabulary became distressed as we were communicating and the care worker knew immediately the person’s needs.

We observed how the staff team were effective communicators who engaged people in communication about their immediate needs. Staff had a good knowledge of how the people they supported may express if they had an immediate need such as a need for a drink or if they were in pain. One carer said, “If [person] needed a drink, [they] would communicate by picking up a cup or if in pain [they] may lie down or sit down and place their hand on the area which is causing pain.”

We observed a staff member responding immediately to someone who needed repositioning as they were at risk of choking. Staff were hypervigilant and aware of risks associated with people.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

The provider ensured staff had access to an occupational health service, which offered colleagues support in returning to work when they had been experiencing long term health problems including mental health issues.

The provider had a wellbeing fund for colleagues who were at risk of experiencing financial difficulties. Staff had the opportunity to benefit from childcare voucher schemes and cashback on dental and optical appointments.

Staff had access to an employee assistance programme which included telephone counselling and 24-hour assistance on personal, legal and financial issues.

Staff told us the culture had positively changed since the appointment of the registered manager. Staff told us how the registered manager supported them following a bereavement within the service. They said the registered manager provided emotional support, accommodated annual leave, bereavement leave, requests for retirement and a different contract for a staff member.

Staff told us they had regular meetings with their line managers including supervision “You Can”. Staff told us how well supported they had felt by the leaders when they were going through difficult moments in their personal lives.

Leaders regularly reviewed the wellbeing and support offered via quality assurance and staff surveys. Action plans were identified regarding improvements required.