Seco Support Swindon

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.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 82 (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 was exceptional at making sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

The service demonstrated exceptional commitment to person-centred care, ensuring every person was supported in a way that reflected their unique identity, communication style and aspirations. This began with the recruitment process, where care was built around the person. For example, people were encouraged to take control and make decisions about prospective staff supporting them. People and their relativeswere also involved in the delivery of bespoke training for each person. One relative commented, “As the process moved on, we met with the training officer, who prepares all the person specific training for the team.” The manager told us, “[Person] will ask for certain things to be added to their training programme].” This demonstrated care was person led.

Regular meetings were held with each person, and staff consistently used people’s preferred methods of communication, including PECS and written communication. This enabled people to express their needs and wishes confidently and in ways that felt natural to them.

Staff told us, “Everything we do is focused on the person, empowering her to make her own choices and achieve her goals. She is able to communicate her needs and wishes, and we always respond promptly to encourage this. Support plans are developed collaboratively with the person and her family, ensuring an accurate picture of her needs and preferences. These plans are reviewed and updated regularly. Recently, the person has begun requesting additions to her care plan, demonstrating increased confidence in expressing her preferences.” This meant people could decide how they wanted to be supported, in their own words.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

Leaders and staff demonstrated an in depth understanding of people’s needs and worked in partnership with professionals involved in people’s care. This included making reasonable adjustments to how they supported people to enable them to access social and medical appointments.

One relative told us, “Staff encourage people to appointments such as hair appointments and swimming sessions which aren’t always successful. They’re encouraged to visit the venue even if the activity doesn’t go ahead. Some visits are successful and other times they just get as far as entering the building. Visits are well planned to reduce friction, such as attending at quiet times, having a designated entrance away from busy areas. The staff are good at sensing the mood and whether to continue or leave.”

One staff member told us, “We support them to live a fulfilling life by adapting activities to their preferences and abilities, such as visiting quiet coffee shops or arranging quiet times. We also support communication, enabling the person to express themselves effectively.”

The service demonstrated the positive outcomes people achieved from a service which collaborated well with professionals for improvement.

The provider was exceptional at developing appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

People’s care plans contained comprehensive information about their communication methods, how different factors such as the environment affected people’s communication, and the importance of communication in promoting quality of life. People had ‘communication dictionaries’ which listed various communicative expressions and what these meant. This helped staff clearly understand how to meet people’s needs.

One person and their service manager had created a communication board, which included which staff were supporting the next day and information about the person’s routine. The care plan stated that the person spent a few days playing with her communication boards and made changes and suggestions to meet her needs.

Staff explained how they made use of communication aids such as social stories, PECS, and emotion cards to support this. Staff also worked in partnership with the speech and language therapy to seek support in relation to improving communication for one person. One staff member commented, “For my team, music therapy was funded as the most appropriate holistic therapy.”

Comments from relatives included, “[Person’s] communication is getting better and better. She is now more comfortable with expressing her feelings and opinions. [Person] has an emotions thermometer to enable her to show staff how she feels” and “Good use of social stories really support [person’s] understanding and lessen her high levels of anxiety.”

This meant people’s quality of life had improved through creative use of communication systems.

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.

There was a complaints policy which outlined how people could complain. People and relatives told us they knew how to complain. People were encouraged to feedback about their care. People met with the service manager on a regular basis. One staff member commented, “For the person we support, our monthly ‘my meeting’ asks of any worries, or things that upset them as well as reminding them who to speak to. Our welcome booklet details how to raise a concern or complaint.” One person told us they would speak to staff or the service manager if they had any worries or concerns.

There was a complaints, concerns and compliments log which was reviewed weekly. This helped leaders maintain oversight of the service.

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

The provider worked in creative ways to ensure people’s needs could be met. For example, examples were shared about how staff contacted healthcare services prior to appointments to request side rooms or appointments at quieter times to improve access for people.

We were told people were supported to access education. The provider supported people to access their local community. The provider was very aware of barriers to people’s care and support and recognised the potential impact barriers may have on people’s health and wellbeing.

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

Leaders were alert to inequalities some people face and took steps to address this. For example, staff supported people to communicate their needs by the use of visual communication aids to reduce inequalities.Staff had completed training on equality, diversity and inclusion.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future.

People were involved in planning for the future, such as holidays and trips to ensure they were maximising their experiences. One staff member commented, “[Person] has been in care for years and has never been on holiday. Seco came along and within one year he has gone on holiday.”

People had ‘Support me to live my best life’ documents within their care and support plans which outlined personalised goals people had set. This document included information to guide staff how to support people with these goals and aspirations. This document was regularly reviewed and any progress was documented.