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 remained requires improvement. This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.
 

This service scored 60 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Managers and staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. People and their relatives described staff as polite and kind, particularly where continuity of staff existed. One person told us, “I am fine at the moment. The carers are doing a pretty good job, and I am happy with them. They are all nice people. They are kind to me and I like them coming. I feel comfortable with them, and I am happy with the way they look after me.”

Positive relationships and rapport between people and staff were evident in stable care packages, including with individuals who were non-verbal. A relative commented, “[Person] is happy with them. Staff have developed a good relationship with them over time. They know [Person] well and understand them, even though they cannot communicate verbally. I absolutely trust them with their care, it means I can relax knowing they are being looked after properly.” Relatives told us they were assured staff would respond appropriately to their family member’s needs, especially if they were in pain, discomfort or distress. A relative told us, “They [staff] look after [Person] okay, they are always clean and comfortable and keep things tidy. They’re pretty good, they always let me know if [Person] not feeling well, they look after them well enough. [Person’s] team are pretty good on the whole, overall, I can’t really fault them.”
 

Managers and staff did not always treat people as individuals or make sure their care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. Relatives told us, when their family member’s normal staff visited the care and support was generally good. One relative told us, “[Person] is very safe, staff get to know where everything is and get to know what [Person] can and can’t do. They talk to [Person] as though they are their father, its lovely. They’re kind. The carers are very efficient. Don’t rush off and ask if there’s anything else you want.” However, when stand-in staff visited, people and their relatives said the care was sometimes rushed and task-focused rather than providing individualised care. One person told us, “I can trust my usual staff, they are very good at coaxing and supporting me when I need encouragement. When carers change too often, it feels unsettling and adds to my stress. You build trust with a member of staff and then it changes. When the main carer is off, the changes can be stressful. It unsettles things because new carers don’t always know me as well. It takes time for different carers to understand me properly and that can make things harder. It’s much easier and calmer when the main carer is here.”

People and their relatives told us they were not always supported to promote their independence and have choice and control over their day-to-day care and support. The unreliability of the home care visits, including late calls, and staff leaving early did not always allow people to structure their days and ensure their routines were met. Comments included, “[Person] doesn’t feel unsafe just upset and it’s worrying for them, as staff don’t always listen to them or follow their instructions, and sometimes just brush them off,” and “[Person] has felt staff were not very sympathetic with them at times. They feel rushed during visits. Sometimes staff just come in, do what needs to be done and leave without much interaction at all. [Person] raised this with managers, and they did respond to the issues raised and now they have got to know some of the staff better, things seem a bit improved.”

People’s needs, views, wishes and comfort were not always seen as a priority. The provider did not always ensure staff were provided with enough time to ensure people were supported in a timely manner to meet their needs. Communication and responsiveness were concerns frequently raised by people and their relatives. Concerns included, frequent changes in staff making it harder to build understanding and consistency in care, lack of communication about changes in visit times, inconsistent visit times, carers leaving early, and failure to inform families when healthcare supplies, such as continence products were running low. We received some positive feedback from people and their relatives about the responsiveness of staff. Comments included, “Carers will pick up quite quickly if something is not right, such as [Person’s] catheter bypassing. When an ambulance was called, the carers stayed with them. They are really, efficient,” and “Staff understand [Person’s] condition and are alert to their changing needs and respond appropriately. If a GP needs calling, I trust that they would do that.” However, our assessment found people’s care and support was not always being delivered in a way that met expected standards. Whilst staff, at the time of our visits, showed commitment and were well meaning, the provider had not ensured there were always enough consistent staff with the right training, support and guidance to deliver the right and consistent care to people when they needed it.

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. 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.