Dependable Care for You Ltd

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 each other and colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. A staff member said, “We know one another well and support each other. This includes the management.”

People told us they were treated with dignity and spoken to in a respectful way. One person told us, “They are kind, caring and respectful. They shut the door and keep me warm when they are washing me. They never rush me and are always talking to me. They are respectful to my visitors too. A relative said, “They are respectful and kind. They take their time when helping them and even make jokes with them as a kind of distraction.”

Staff had received dignity and respect training. People and relatives told us staff cared for them respectfully and protected their dignity. A relative said, “They always uphold [name] dignity and respect their privacy. They are 100% kind and caring and have got to know them so well.”

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. A family member said, “They [staff] know them well. They are respectful of their religious needs. Another said, “They understand our culture, and they send carers who can do the things they like and the way they like them such as meals.” One person told us, “I am treated personally. Staff treat me as an individual person.”

People’s care plans provided staff with important information about their history, and preferences, including information about protected characteristics.

Discussions with staff demonstrated they respected and supported people with their individual routines. One staff member said, “Each person we support is different and we treat them as they should be treated; as individuals.”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. One person told us, “I am given choice all of the time.” A family member said, “They accommodate anything [name] wants to do.”

People were supported to maintain relationships with friends and relatives which demonstrated the benefits of the importance of maintaining meaningful connections and emotional wellbeing for people. The management approach was one of continual and ongoing dialogue with people and their families. People and relatives were unequivocal in their overwhelming praise of this style of management and the positive impact this had upon them.

People’s preferences and routines in relation to personal care was recorded to support staff to meet their individual preferences. Staff we spoke with were able to tell us about people in depth and how they chose to lead their lives, and the importance in their role to enable people to achieve this.

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. They were responsive and aware of changes in people’s emotional needs and knew the importance of deploying a sensitive approach. One staff member said, “We use distraction with people sometimes. This can be by having a joke with a person or really praising them for how well they are doing.” One relative told us, “When [name] is in discomfort they [staff] can tell because they know them well and they respond quickly.”

Care calls were consistent in their timings, and which staff were deployed which provided people with continuity of care. People and relatives confirmed they had a schedule of forthcoming visits and if any changes were made even if this was on the day they were informed.

Managers promptly contacted, and worked well with external professionals, when people’s needs changed. They had systems in place for when people’s care arrangements may need reviewing outside a scheduled review. People and relatives told us it was easy to discuss any concern or worry they had with staff and managers.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff were overwhelming positive about the management approach and support afforded to them. They reported good staffing levels, and those with the right skills and experience were always deployed so they could undertake their role safely and in line with planned care. They commented staff deployed had the right skills and experience which enabled them to work together well. One staff member said, “The managers care about staff.”

Time afforded to care calls enabled all tasks to be completed and unrushed. It was reported widely by staff, people and relatives that care staff had time within their calls to talk with people which eliminated the risk of a task focussed approach to care. One staff member said, “Another said, “If a call is going to run over the planned time, we call the on-call manager, and they sort it which stops other people being delayed with their call.”

Discussions with staff and the registered manager demonstrated a positive culture was in place and the importance of it promoted. Observations of interactions between managers and staff whilst undertaking the assessment confirmed this.