EVHM LLP - 24 Tower Road West

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.

Staff knew people well and how best to support them. We observed a warmth in the interactions between people and staff. People’s relatives spoke very positively about the relationship between staff and their loved ones. One person’s relative said “Staff are very caring.” During our visit, we observed staff engaging with people and demonstrating patience and understanding. Each person was treated with kindness and compassion.

Staff spoke with us about how they ensured people’s privacy and dignity, and we observed staff supporting people, ensuring people’s dignity was maintained. Staff spent time with people talking about things that mattered to them. They gave clear responses to people’s questions it was evident that people were at ease in staff company.

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 were supported to fulfil their dreams and aspirations. One person always loved to watch the half marathon each year. Staff worked out a plan to walk the half marathon with them, and they started walking, regularly increasing the length of each walk. Staff told us that one day the person started jogging so the staff member joined in. The person’s mum bought new trainers for him and the person and staff member entered and completed the half marathon.

Each person had a meal choice one night a week and there was a takeaway once a month and free choice at the weekends. If people did not want what was on the menu, alternatives were always available. People chose where to eat their meals. One person liked to eat alone in the lounge area. Another person chose to make their own meals and to have them in their bedroom, others chose to eat in the dining room.

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

People decided how they wanted to spend their time. Two people attended day centres either 3 or 4 days a week. Another person had 1:1 staff support two days a week to do activities both in and out of the house. Day trips were arranged to places like the Rare Breeds centre.

There were opportunities for people to go out for meals and café trips or shopping for personal items. Some people chose to go to the pub, to local clubs and to a monthly disco. We were told that 2 people loved baking so were given opportunities to bake regularly. They also went swimming once a month. They had played football and flown a kite the day before our site visit. Another person had chosen to do some planting so staff said that they would arrange to take him to a garden centre to buy some vegetables to grow in an area of the garden.

People were encouraged to take part in household chores such as laying and clearing the table, loading the dishwasher, making their bed and doing laundry. People were also encouraged to make their own drinks as desired; they prepared sandwiches and helped with food preparation for the evening meals. Where support was needed for any of these tasks, it was provided.

Staff supported people to maintain important links with family and friends. Some people had their own mobile phones. People met with or visited their relatives and, where needed, staff support was provided.

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.

There were generally enough staff to be able to respond in the moment to specific requests for activities and to be spontaneous in what they did. One person received funding to have 1 to 1 staff 2 days a week, so staff could respond quickly to the person’s needs and wishes. In the mornings there were often 3 staff to support people. In the afternoons there were 2 staff so if people wanted to do different activities they took turns or compromised. People were happy with this arrangement as most were set in their ways and liked their routines.

Care plans provided detailed guidance on how to anticipate and meet people’s needs quickly and in ways that reduced and mitigated discomfort and stress.Staff knew people well and how best to support them.

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

Staff told us they felt supported and could go to either the manager or the deputy when they needed advice, guidance, or support. Staff received regular supervision but also said that they did not need to wait for supervision meetings as they knew they could contact either the manager or deputy if they had a worry or concern. A staff member told us, “Management also check in with us informally to see how we are.” Another staff member told us, “We have a strong staff team, and we use a consistent approach, so we all work well together.”