IECC CARE

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 Requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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.

There was a culture of kindness and respect across teams. The provider and staff treated people with empathy and compassion and respected their privacy. We observed positive relationships and rapport between people using the service and staff. Observations and conversations with staff showed they cared about people’s wellbeing in a thoughtful, and meaningful way. They actively listened to people to understand and respond to their individual needs and preferences. One member of staff commented, “I care about the people I look after. I care for people as if they were my family. They have the same rights in life as everybody else. I look after people the way I want to be looked after myself. I think the people we support love us as we love them and they love the food we cook with them. They go out into the world and do what they wish supported by staff.”

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure their care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. We saw staff knew people well, understood their unique backgrounds and were aware of their strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and protected characteristics. People’s individual needs and preferences were reflected in their care plans and understood by staff. A service user profile at the front of care plans provided a good description of the person’s needs and the support they needed from staff to live well. This included, day to day routines which contained clear step by step guidance for staff to follow, including how the person communicated, what caused anxiety, and how to distract them to ensure they had a good day.

People’s communication needs were being met to enable them to engage in their care and support to maximise their experience and outcomes. Each person had a detailed communication passport and plan to guide staff on their preferred method of communication. A relative commented, “[Person] is nonverbal and has previously used PECS (a picture exchange communication system). Now they can say what they want, for example, rice, yam, plantain, and points to make themself understood. They know what they want.”
 

The provider promoted people’s independence, choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. One person told us, “I like to go bowling every Saturday, go to the sauna every Monday, go shopping every Wednesday and I do my own insulin injection.” Staff confirmed the person was diabetic and self-administered their insulin injection prompted and observed by staff. People told us they had access to a range of activities of choice, including bowling, karaoke and a Friday disco and were supported to access colleges to learn new skills. Staff commented, “Supporting people to be independent is at the core of what we do. People have choices about everything in their lives from clothing, food, shopping, and activities. We support people to do whatever they like in life,” and “People enjoy a social club for people with similar support needs where they can go to meet up with their friends. As well as going to the club, they also go to pubs, cinemas, restaurants, and to play pool.”

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. Staff showed concern for people’s wellbeing and responded quickly enough to avoid any preventable discomfort, concern or distress. Staff were aware of how people’s emotions, discomfort, distress manifested, and supported people to manage these in a positive way. For example, we observed a staff member support a person through a period of anxiety, by engaging them in a physical activity. This helped de‑escalate the situation and ensured the safety of the individual and others.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff. They were passionate about wanting to provide a good service and clearly recognised and valued their workforce. People were supported by staff who felt valued by their leaders and their colleagues. Staff comments included, “I enjoy working with IECC because we are a small team, we all get along well, we communicate well, we have the same values and qualities. We look after our people well.” We have regular support, supervision and appraisals but anytime you have doubts or worries you can get support with your decision making.” The provider had systems in place to ensure staff were able to seek support from managers outside of daytime hours, and weekends in an emergency. Staff comments included, “The office is only about 10 minutes away, if we need support, we ask and they provide it,” and “We are able to contact the office and the senior team are always available to offer support and attend the properties if they need to.”