Gemcare South West Plymouth

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 50 (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 did not always treat people with kindness, empathy and compassion, or respect their privacy and dignity.

People were happy with their regular care staff and told us, “Our regular ones are just great in every way, nothing is a trouble to any of them” and “My carers are very respectful and so kind.”

However, one person told us some staff came in and did not speak to them. They said this made them feel anxious and uncomfortable in their own home. The manager was not aware of this issue. They contacted the person’s relative and took action to resolve this.

The provider did not always treat people as individuals or make sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They did not always take account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

People told us their regular care staff knew them well and always met their needs. Care plans contained people’s choices and preferences. People told us they had been involved in their care review.

However, several people told us when certain staff visited, they did not deliver the care as planned. A relative said, “Their care should be consistent as everything they need the carers to do is written in their care plan.”

The provider did not always promote people’s independence, so people did not always know their rights and have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Where people preferred a female member of care staff this had not always been respected. A relative said, “(My relative) doesn’t like male carers to do their personal care so I have asked for them not to come, unfortunately I have been told if we don’t have them, there isn’t always a female carer to come so I don’t really have a choice.”

Where visits were male only, female staff had been sent when a male staff member was not available. A female staff member told us this made them feel uncomfortable. The manager told us they would not send female staff into a visit if they told them they felt uncomfortable and were trying to recruit more male care staff to resolve this.

People told us staff encouraged them to do what they could for themselves to maintain their independence. A staff member said, “We will only assist where we need to but they are very independent and like to do a lot themselves.”

Staff did not always respond to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Rotas showed some staff were not staying for the full length of the visit which impacted on their ability to complete people’s care and anticipate their needs. A relative said, “The carers come in do the bare minimum and leave. This causes (my relative) to be very unhappy a couple of days a week”. A person told us, “One staff member only washes my back, nothing else.”

People said regular staff listened to them, and acted on their requests, such as helping them to be comfortable.

The provider did not always support workforce wellbeing or enable staff to deliver consistent person‑centred care.

Staff told us the manager had made improvements which supported them. This included more detailed care plans, training, more office staff, and better support. Comments included, “I feel more valued and it has definitely improved and I feel I can ring in and someone will deal with it” and “I have had some health issues and they have been very supportive with that.”

However, staff raised concerns around some staff’s conduct, communication, and lack of confidentiality. The manager was aware of these issues and told us how they were working to resolve them.

The provider also had an employee assistance helpline for staff to access additional support.