Joy2care

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 good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 70 (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 always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People and their relatives spoke positively about the staff that supported them. They said, “Carers are lovely” and “The [carers] are absolutely lovely. I’m very pleased.”

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff knew people well and support them in an individualised way. Staff said, “I ensure I know people’s choices and wishes by listening to them, communicating regularly, involving them in decisions about their care, and referring to their care plans. I respect their preferences and support them to make their own choices whenever possible.”

A professional who worked with the service told us, “They are going above and beyond in the respect and commitment they have shown to my client.”

People’s religious and spiritual needs were respected and where required staff supported them to participate in worship, for example by attending church.

The provider promoted people’s independence and ensured individuals understood their rights, enabling them to have choice and control over their care, treatment and wellbeing.

Care plans were written in a respectful and empowering way, and provided clear guidance for staff to support people to maintain their independence. Staff were prompted to allow people time to complete tasks for themselves, while they remained observant to signs of fatigue and offered appropriate support where needed. This included when they encouraged small, enabling interventions rather than taking over tasks entirely.

The provider sought to respect people’s preferences regarding who supported them, wherever possible. Staff demonstrated a clear understanding of the importance of respecting choice and individuality. One member of staff told us, “People’s choices and wishes are in their care plans, I also ask them on the day as every day is different when caring for someone,” and another said, “I support people in the way they choose and encourage them to be as independent as possible, so they have the same opportunities to live the way they choose.”

Care plans also included guidance on how to support people’s social wellbeing, and outlined interests and preferred activities. People had opportunities to participate in activities through access to the provider’s day centre, which helped to promote engagement and reduce social isolation.

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, preferences and wishes. Staff responded appropriately to people’s needs as they arose and took action to minimise discomfort, concern or distress.

People’s individual needs and preferences were clearly documented within care plans, and provided guidance for staff on how to deliver person-centred support. Where people required consistency, routine and timely support, the provider ensured this was delivered by a small, regular team of staff to promote familiarity and continuity of care.

For people who were unable to communicate their needs verbally, detailed guidance was in place to support staff to recognise and respond to non-verbal cues. This helped to ensure staff could effectively interpret and respond to people’s needs in a timely and appropriate way.

The provider did not always ensure staff wellbeing was consistently promoted or that staff were fully supported to deliver person-centred care.

Feedback from staff was mixed. Some staff described a supportive and inclusive culture, with access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), free counselling, and recognition through awards and social events. Staff also reported feeling respected and able to approach management for support.

However, other staff shared less positive experiences. Concerns included challenges with annual leave requests, feeling under pressure to work despite personal circumstances, and did not always feel listened to in relation to workload, travel time and scheduling. Staff highlighted that feeling heard and supported was an area that required further attention.

Overall, while systems were in place to support staff wellbeing, these were not consistently experienced across the workforce.