Chinite Home Care Darlington and Northeast

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

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.

The provider made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

Care plans were detailed, person-centred and regularly reviewed. They included information about what was important to people, their preferences, desired outcomes and how staff should support them in a way that reflected their wishes and routines.

We received positive feedback on the way care was delivered. A professional told us, “The care coordination team I have worked with are strong communicators and consistently demonstrate a person-centred and compassionate approach.”

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

Management were knowledgeable about people’s needs and liaised with external health professionals when required to help ensure people received appropriate support. Professionals gave positive feedback about how the registered manager and staff worked with them to achieve good outcomes for people.

Staffing was planned in advance to ensure people’s support needs were consistently met. The provider recognised the importance of continuity of care and wherever possible the same staff supported people. Live monitoring of calls was carried out by office or on-call staff. The electronic system meant it could be identified and acted upon straight away if staff were running late or had not attended a call. The provider had an emergency plan in place to ensure safe delivery of care during adverse events such as poor weather conditions and a contingency plan in case of unplanned staff absence.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. People had access to information about their care and support, and staff were provided with clear guidance to deliver consistent care.

Care plans contained detailed information about people's communication needs, and support requirements. Information was presented in ways which helped staff understand and respond to people’s individual communication needs.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result. A relative told us, “[My loved one] and family are very involved in making decisions and what care she needs.”

People’s relatives told us they knew how to complain and were comfortable to do so if necessary. Details of the providers complaints policy was given to people and their relatives when they first started to use the service. One relative told us they had previously raised a concern about calls not always being on time and this had improved as a result.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. Care records showed people had support from a range of health professionals. Relatives told us they were involved in decisions about people’s care, and staff respected people’s choices and preferences.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

The provider had policies on equality, diversity and inclusion, and staff had completed relevant training. This helped ensure they understood people’s protected characteristics and the importance of delivering fair and equal care. People’s cultural and religious needs were considered when planning and delivering care.

Care records demonstrated decisions were made in conjunction with the relevant people to ensure staff always acted in people’s best interest. This included family members, advocates, or other health professionals.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

At the time of this inspection, the service was not supporting anyone who currently required end of life care. Care records included information about advance decisions such as ‘do not attempt cardiovascular pulmonary resuscitation’ (DNACPR).