Helping Hands Aylesbury

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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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 and their relatives gave us positive feedback about staff. Comments included, “They [staff] are all kind and caring.”, “[staff] is very kind. [staff] knows [person] very well. They laugh together; they get on well. [staff] gives [person] space when they need it”.

Staff spoke about people in a respectful manner. Staff were able to tell us how they provided dignified care and support to people.

Staff told us, “l respect their [people’s] privacy, when l did my training, we did learn about confidentiality” and “I am well aware of the GDPR rules and my company's regulations about privacy and I abide by them. Even if I have access to people’s personal histories, backgrounds or goals, I don't share them with others, unless my client gives me consent and I am instructed to do so”.

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.

People and their relatives told us they were happy with the support they received from the staff. One relative told us “[person] goes out every day on [their] scooter. [staff] goes with them to support them.”

Staff spoke positively about supporting people to be themselves. One member of staff told us “I usually have all the information about people’s personal, cultural, social and religious needs, that I find in their support plan, or the individual or their family shares it with me. As my care is very heavily person-centred care, I am trying to tailor my help around these needs, also considering their protected characteristics. As carers we have to be very open minded and accepting”. Another staff member told us, “When dealing with protected characteristics l ask about their needs, l treat my client with dignity and respect and l do not decide for them”.

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

People were able to share with us what equipment they had to support them be independent and told us how staff supported people to use it. One relative told us, “[staff] helps [person] with the stairlift and their mobility scooter.” Other people and relatives told us how staff supported them to complete exercises or improve their wellbeing comments included, “They [staff] take [person] to the bathroom, help [person] with their exercises” and “[person] is 90. [person] has got mobility problem. They get on well and [staff] definitely improves [person’s] quality of life.”

Staff were able to demonstrate how they supported people to maintain their independence. Comments from staff included, “The key to support people to be as independent as possible is to take our time with them, never to rush them, enable them to feel the joy over their achievements and encourage them as much as possible. I am trying to do all these for my clients” and “In care plans you will read about how the person wants to be addressed and that will give me the knowledge to understand their cultural values”. When asked about a person’s independence, one relative told us “[person would be] “nothing really without them, they’d be stuck in bed.”

People were able to manage their own medicines where a risk assessment had identified they were safe to do so.

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 service actively monitored and responded to changes in people’s needs through assessments, observations, and surveys.

Systems were in place to ensure people had care calls when they needed support, for instance care calls for people with time specific medicines were booked to ensure people received their medicine on time. When people’s requests for visit times could not be accommodated, the person and/or their relative were made aware and informed of the expected time of visit.

People gave us mixed feedback about how punctual their care calls were and if they felt rushed by staff. Comments included, “[person] doesn't feel rushed.” “They do have time that [person] doesn't feel rushed,” and “Sometimes they are pressurised for time.”

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

Systems were in place to support staff and their wellbeing. Staff had access to a free confidential counselling service. In addition, a senior member of staff was ‘on call’ to support them when and if needed.

Staff who provided feedback told us they felt supported by senior staff and had opportunities to share any concerns. Comments included, “My company treats me well” and “I have never been treated better in a working environment. I sometimes even receive short weekly calls from the office so they can make sure I feel well, physically and emotionally as well, and if I have any problem at all, they are all ears to help or accommodate. They have proven this time and time again”.

One staff member told us their hours were worked around family commitments, and the provider always respected a work / life balance and their need to plan in advance.

Systems were in place for staff to inform the service they were home safely at the end of an evening shift and a welcome message was provided to staff each morning.