Helping at Home

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. 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.

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 said staff were kind, considerate, and respectful. People said staff were friendly and took time to chat with them. One person said,“They are all very friendly,”and another commented,“My [relative] would move in with [carer] tomorrow if they could.”Staff were said to be patient, took time to explain what they were doing, and listened to people’s needs.

Privacy and dignity were respected during care, and people said their daily routines were maintained. One person said,“They don’t affect my daily routines at all.” Another person said,“Not one jot do they interfere with our routines.”This meant people received the right level of support to meet their needs without negatively impacting on their lifestyle.

Staff spoke fondly of the people they supported and showed compassion towards them. One person said “Some people when you get to know them, and they are comfortable having you around they will ask for more things and talk more but there is still enough time to help them with the things they need. If not, we will say to [management team], and they will get an assessment done to change this.”

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.

One person told us about when their relatives care plan was set up, “We kept asking “can you do this” and “can you do that” and they have accommodated us very well. They [the provider] said they could even change [name] colostomy bag, and they have taken that on quite well. We do have a review, but we can get in touch and add things – it has evolved. They have never said no and have either absorbed it or sorted it out”.

People told us the service was responsive to people’s preferences, including requests for female care staff. Where meals were provided, people said they could choose what they wanted to eat, and staff supported them appropriately.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People said staff took time to chat and build relationships. One relative said,“Sometimes it is like a karaoke session,”while another said,“They are always chattering away.”Everyone said they were happy with the care provided and felt supported to maintain their independence where possible.

Peoples abilities were recorded in their care plans. People and their families were involved in the contents of their care plans. People told us where possible staff encouraged them to do things themselves. One person told us “They [staff] let me do what I can. I want to be as independent as I can for as long as I can”. Another person said, “they [staff] will encourage them to use the Zimmer frame; they encourage them to do things for themselves." This way of providing care promotes people’s independence and supports them to retain control over their care.

It is important that people are supported to maintain their autonomy and ability to do the things they can for themselves and that their choices are promoted so they remain in control of their own care.

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff followed guidance provided in care plans which we reviewed and saw contained detailed information which was specific to the person. This meant people were treated as individuals as staff had guidance on how to do this.

Staff understood how to respond to any immediate concerns and people’s needs. Staff were able to provide examples of this and how they would escalate any concerns. One staff member told us, “I went to a client and who answered the door complaining about their ankle. They were putting deep freeze on it. I body mapped it, took pictures and raised it with the office.”

Staff responding to people’s needs in the moment ensured they were supported to minimise any distress or discomfort.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to deliver person-centred care. The provider supported staff who required specific working arrangements, promoting their wellbeing and helping them maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Staff told us the management team were supportive and available and gave examples of how they were flexible with staff and accommodated childcare and family life to support their wellbeing. One staff member spoke about working flexibly to see family and said “They [the provider] are happy for me to sometimes take a half day on a Friday to go and see them [family] and they are happy for me to do that, and [the provider] will say do it if you need to.”

We found staff were provided with regular supervision meetings which was an opportunity for them to discuss how they were, any support they needed, and career development. The provider had effective systems in place for monitoring staff rotas and on-call arrangements, ensuring safe staffing levels and appropriate support at all times. Regular welfare checks were carried out to promote staff safety, staff wellbeing and promptly address any concerns. A staff member told us, “When I first started, I was worried about being by myself. I feel like I could go to [manager] if I had a problem with [care manager]. There is overtime there if people want it, but staff members aren’t getting burnt out.”