Ontime Response Healthcare Ltd Norfolk

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.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 71 (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’s care and support needs were person-centred. We reviewed peoples care plans and these showed that people were empowered to make decisions and they reflected people’s individuality. We identified 1 isolated incident where a person was referred to by another name, however when we informed the service of this, they told us they would rectify this promptly.

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 were supported by staff who knew them. A relative told us, “[Relative] knows all the staff well as it’s a regular team and they seem very well trained.”

The registered manager showed us reviews and funding discussions about people when their care and support needs changed. A healthcare professional told us, “[Registered manager] actively reviews people and gets in contact when their needs have changed and requests them to be reviewed. They know all the people they support very well.”

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. Pre-assessments were conducted that informed staff how people communicated and this was continued throughout their care plans. The service had a service user guide in place which was clear and provided picture aids to meet accessible information standards. It included the complaints procedure and useful contacts and explained what they could expect from Ontime Response Healthcare Ltd.

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. All complaints were investigated appropriately and had suitable responses. Annual feedback surveys from people and their relatives were obtained and analysed to identify areas of improvement and good practice. Any lessons learnt from these were shared with the staff.

People and their relatives knew how to raise concerns. A person told us, “I’ve never needed to complain.” A relative told us, “I’ve never had to complain and if I ring, I can always get through to someone.” Another relative told us, “The communication overall is very good with feeding back and updating us. We are very happy overall.”

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. Care plans recorded clear processes for staff to follow in the event of an emergency. The service had an on-call phone that was diverted to management out of hours. The service informed us of the contingency plans in place when dealing with an emergency and supporting people to ensure they receive the right medical attention.

A staff member told us, “If I find a person on the floor, I’ll first call the emergency services 999 so that the person gets help first, then I’ll inform the line manager.”

A healthcare professional told us, “I feel I am able to contact the manager any time, and they will respond to me quickly, even out of hours I am able to reach them on their mobile.”

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this. People’s care plans recorded all equipment they had in place to enable staff to support them appropriately. The registered manager referred a person, with their consent to bereavement support following the loss of a family member as they were unable to access this support independently. The service had an Equality and Diversity policy in place and referenced all types of discrimination.

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. Care plans clearly recorded people’s end of life wishes and whether or not people wished to be resuscitated or not. Staff had completed training around end of life care and in addition had attended a local hospice and shadowed shifts to gain more knowledge and insight around end of life care.

Care plans recorded personal goals and achievements for some people on what they wished for the future.