Westmoorland and Furness

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 newly registered 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.

People, or their relatives, that used the service told us that care staff treated them with kindness and compassion. One person that we spoke to told us, “Care staff always cover my lap when using a commode.”
The deputy care manager showed concern about a person who was displaying signs of loneliness and would benefit from additional visits to support them with their emotional wellbeing.
A member of the care staff told us that treating people who use the service with kindness, compassion, dignity and respect was ‘at the heart of everything that I do’. Another member of the care staff that we spoke to told us, “The joy I get from seeing people smile when I’ve done something nice for them, it makes everything in the world feel a little bit brighter for me .”

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.
Although the provider had not always completed the ‘About Me’ documents in care records with people, care staff that we spoke to understood people’s needs well. Care plans included information about peoples wishes, preferences, likes and dislikes and care staff demonstrated that preferences had been followed by detailing them in care notes
 

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 developed care plans that acknowledged what people could do for themselves. Care staff promoted people’s independence and choice during their visits, and this was reflected in care notes. Care staff told us that promoting people’s independence was important. A member of care staff told us, “It is very important to let people do what they can, people should always feel in control of their care, we are here to help, not to take over.”

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 operated on ‘on call’ system, with shared responsibility between the registered manager and deputy care manager. The deputy care manager told us that if there was an emergency and an urgent response was required, she would provide cover for this or re-direct staff who were nearest to respond. A person told us, “Going from chair to bed, hoist, slipped onto bed, I phoned management, they came out straight away.”
 

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

Care staff that we spoke to told us that they felt valued by the provider. One member of staff told us that the provider had fully funded a ‘train the trainer’ course for them and supported them with learning. All three staff that we spoke to told us that they were happy working for the provider, with one staff member telling us, “This is the best company I have ever worked for, I don’t think I will ever want to leave them.”
The provider shared an example of where they had recently adapted a care staff members rota, to allow them to return home to attend to their childcare responsibilities.