Guild Care Domiciliary 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. This is the first assessment for this service since they reregistered. 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.

People were treated with kindness and their dignity was respected.

People indicated that staff had a kind and compassionate approach to their care and support. Staff knew people well and used this knowledge to communicate effectively and provide personalised support. Care planning was respectful, person centred and referred to people with respect.

People and their relatives spoke positively about staff’s kind and compassionate approach. One relative said, “They treat him with respect and overall, they are of high quality. They are far superior than the free care and they are very courteous and compassionate.” One relative said, “I think they do everything with grace, yes, he likes the staff and they have a good rapport.”

People were treated as individuals by staff who took time to get to know them and understand them.

Staff knew and respected the people they cared for, including their preferences, personal histories, backgrounds and diverse needs. Care plans were detailed and had detailed person-centred recording of people’s backgrounds. One relative said, “He likes to talk about his hobbies and they do too. So he gets companionship.”

The service demonstrated a strong and proactive approach to understanding and responding to people’s individual needs, particularly in relation to communication. People’s communication needs were assessed and clearly recorded, and staff were supported to adapt their approach using a range of methods such as easy-read materials, visual prompts and assistive technology. This meant people were better able to express their preferences and remain involved in decisions about their care. One relative said, “they always ask her can we put you in the hoist and explain. They treat her as a person.”

The provider promoted people’s independence and ensured they had choice and control over their care, treatment, and wellbeing. Staff sought to actively support and maximise people’s independence, choice and control.

People’s preferences were considered during care planning, including decisions about who provided their care and how support was delivered. This meant people retained a level of choice and control over their care arrangements.

The provider actively promoted independence and social inclusion through its own community initiatives such as “Creating Connections”. People were encouraged to access a range of activities, including exercise groups and social sessions, and were offered support to maintain relationships with family and the wider community. This helped reduce isolation and supported people to remain engaged in meaningful activities.

People and relatives spoke positively about the control and choice they had about their care, and how staff supported this. One person said, “I can choose the way I want to be cared for.” Another person told us, “They ask me what I want done and how I want it done.” One staff member said, “I am always encouraging them to complete tasks themself, offering verbal prompts and reassurance where needed rather than taking over. I always focus on each person’s ability, providing them with the right level of support and safety.”

People’s needs, views, wishes and comfort were a priority and staff quickly anticipated these to avoid any preventable discomfort, concern or distress.

The service gathered feedback from people about their care experiences, which provided some assurance that people’s needs were recognised and considered. This indicated that there were systems in place to understand people’s experiences and identify areas for improvement.

Staff could quickly recognise when people need help or support and responded appropriately to changes in people’s health. For example, appropriate referrals to specialist services like Speech and Language Therapist were made in a timely fashion. One relative said, “Lovely, he loves them they are very helpful, they will call if they are unsure about anything and we just can’t complain at all.”

The registered manager and provider valued the inclusion, wellbeing and contributions of staff that enabled them to provide safe, effective and person-centred support.

Systems such as wellbeing calls helped maintain contact with staff working alone in the community, and access to counselling services showed that emotional support was available when needed. Initiatives such as staff voice groups and inclusion networks (including LGBTQ+ and neurodiversity groups) promoted a sense of belonging and enabled staff to contribute their views. Support systems were available to staff such as an employee assistance program providing GP and mental health support to staff. Staff could also access an independent support line for personal or professional support. Staff recognition schemes, opportunities to provide feedback and concerns were all available to staff.

Staff spoke positively about the wellbeing support they received to provide quality care. One staff member said, “Guild Care office staff regularly checks in with me and asks if everything is OK. They accommodate my requests whenever possible. They are understanding of my circumstances and have been very flexible.” Another staff member said, “If I'm unsure in any call, I will ask my on-call for advice before doing said task so I'm clear on what's best to do in each situation. This then means I can keep my customers safe and also make sure I'm working in a safe manner for myself as well.”