The Pines Home Care

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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

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 made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to changes in people’s needs.

People were at the centre of how their care, support and treatment were delivered. Care was tailored to their needs and preferences, as set out in their support plans. Managers and support staff displayed a detailed understanding of these and clearly demonstrated their commitment to such person-centred care. People confirmed staff provided the support they needed. We observed staff correctly following people’s support plans. A relative told us, “The care [person] receives is brilliant, [person] is very happy where they are and with their current set up. I am very happy.”

There was a balanced, proportionate approach to supporting people, enabling them to develop and maintain skills, and respecting their choices about their care and support. We observed people doing things for themselves, such as preparing snacks, without prompting, and staff gently encouraging people to do tasks for themselves. Someone described how they now made packed lunches for themselves, which had surprised their family. Support plans contained clear guidance for staff about supporting people to manage risks in a personalised way.

The provider understood people’s diverse health and care needs. They ensured care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

Staff worked collaboratively and flexibly with others so people experienced continuity of care, support and treatment. People had teams of regular staff who liaised with professionals and family carers and supported people to attend healthcare appointments. This enabled them to respond promptly when changes were needed to people’s care or medicines. Some staff had been trained by healthcare professionals to ensure doses of a person’s anticoagulant medicine were properly managed according to blood test results.

Staff worked in a planned, coordinated and flexible way to make sure people experienced smooth transitions of care when starting to receive a service or when moving house. People told us about having good experiences of moving into their homes and getting to know the staff. A relative commented, "The whole process was approached with great care, thought, and planning between our family and The Pines… Their thoughtful and knowledgeable approach made what could have been a very daunting transition feel so much easier."

Staff, people using the service and relatives had access to out of hours support from the service when needed.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The service identified and met people’s information and communication needs, in line with the Accessible Information Standard. Communication needs were assessed and clearly recorded in people’s support plans. Staff working with people understood these communication needs well and were responsive to what people were communicating, whether in words or non-verbally. Staff had the training they needed to support people’s communication needs.

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.

The provider supported people to give their feedback, share ideas or make a complaint. Managers and staff worked collaboratively with people when they expressed concerns to find a solution that worked for them. For example, when someone started becoming upset because of changes where they lived, the registered manager and staff recognised they would much prefer to be somewhere quieter and worked with the person to arrange this.

The registered manager and staff welcomed feedback, concerns or complaints as an opportunity to improve the service and the quality of people’s care. They acted on this, changing practice as necessary. People and relatives received details of the complaints process. They felt the provider would take appropriate action if they raised an issue. There were few formal complaints because the registered manager ensured niggles and concerns were addressed promptly, before they escalated into bigger issues. The registered manager kept people informed about how their feedback had been addressed, including why it was not possible to do anything if that were the case.

The provider made sure people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

The provider designed the service to be accessible to everyone using it and available when people needed it. This involved carefully assessing people’s needs, including their accessibility and communication needs, when they first began to use the service and delivering their care and support accordingly. The provider ensured staff received equality, diversity and inclusion training. Staff spoke with confidence about how these issues applied in their work.

There was an out of hours on call service to support people and staff if an emergency arose outside office working hours. Members of the management team took it in turns to be on call. They knew everyone who used the service and had access to information about everyone’s care and support needs through the computerised care recording system.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who were likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care and support in response to this.

The provider had instilled a culture where staff challenged inequalities and supported people to overcome the barriers they faced. Staff listened, understood and acted when people raised concerns about discrimination. They supported a person to make a complaint to the local sports centre in response to a dispute.

Staff treated people equitably. Support plans reflected people’s protected equality characteristics, such as their age, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation. This helped enable staff to work with people to tailor their support accordingly, if people wished.

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.

Staff sensitively supported people to plan for the changing effects of their ongoing physical and mental health conditions. A key worker told us how they were working with someone to create reminders of life experiences and happy times.

No-one was receiving end of life care at the time of the inspection. However, staff would support people and their families to consider and record their wishes in an end-of-life support plan if this became a concern for people.