Empress Social 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 was the first inspection since the service was registered on 30 July 2020.
 

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 treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

The provider and registered manager told us the principles for providing and maintaining good quality care was about embedding the culture of the service and always striving to do better. We saw kindness, compassion, and dignity were essential attributes amongst the staff team at Empress Social Care.
The registered manager told us staff were introduced to prospective new service users ensuring the staff member was the right person, based on the needs, wishes and specific requests for example, gender preferences.
People who used the service were asked to provide regular monthly feedback to help ensure highest standards were maintained. Staff were able to describe how they ensured people were treated with dignity and respect. One staff member told us, “I always ensure privacy when supporting people for example by covering them with a towel. I chat with them to help them feel more comfortable. I ask them what part of their support they would like first for example a hot drink or something to eat.” One person told us they felt the staff were very kind and caring.
 

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, social and religious needs, unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. 
The registered manager told us they worked in partnership with the people they supported and their families, to develop personalised support. People were offered choices about how and when their support was provided. Staff understood people had a right to refuse either part or all their care.

We noted documents relating to people’s support were written in a sensitive and respectful way, for example the daily records demonstrated how people made choices and were fully involved in all aspects of their support.

Relatives told us the service was flexible, and staff tried to accommodate any appointments both planned and unplanned. The registered manager told us that additional hours can be arranged for example, to help support people to take a holiday or attend an event. This supported people to live their lives in a non-restricted way. This additional support was provided by the care staff once additional funding had been agreed.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment, and wellbeing.
The provider and registered manager told us how they ensured people retained their independence by supporting people to do as much as they could for themselves so they could retain everyday living skills and learn new skills if they wished to.
The registered manager told us that the assessment considered all aspects of a person’s life including their lived history, family composition, people who engaged in their lives and what was important to them as well as their likes and dislikes. The care records demonstrated comprehensive assessment were completed and regularly reviewed.
People who lacked capacity were supported to make everyday living decisions. Staff took the time to explain, and people made choices for example, what they liked to wear, and what they wanted to eat, what sort of hobbies and pastimes they enjoy. For more complex decisions, staff always took a best interest approach to any decision-making and refer to management or the family if they are involved or hold lasting power of attorney (LPA). This approach ensured people were treated as individuals and their rights were upheld.
 

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.
The provider told us that being responsive was essential to the safety and well-being of the people they supported. People told us the service was very responsive and flexible. One relative told us, “They [staff] are always as helpful around timing if I asked them to come earlier or later, they have always obliged.”
Staff told us they took time to understand each person’s own way of communicating so they could connect with people in the verbal or non verbal style that felt most comfortable for them. Staff were aware of the accessible information standard and how they used whatever communication method people could manage, that reflected people’s needs. The use of pictorials, pointing to objects, showing people clothing or food choices was also used.
Staff knew people they supported well and could monitor changes in people’s health and care needs including any signs of illness or distress. Staff would report any changes immediately using a variety of reporting tools, this enabled office staff to make any amendments or arrangements for additional support. People’s care plans and risk assessment were reviewed and updated when needs changed. People took responsibility of their own health needs when they were able and were supported to book and attend GP, health and dental appointments as required.
The registered manager told us they record any accidents and or incidents on the day they are made aware. This enabled the management team to respond immediately and reduce any further risk. Also recorded are any events leading up to the incident requiring intervention. We saw that these records were kept as a reference and any learning shared.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. 
Staff told us they felt well supported by the management team. Staff told us they felt valued and listened to and were well supported. We noted that wellbeing meetings were scheduled if any concerns were raised by the staff member. When staff had been off work, they were supported back to work to help ensure that they are fit to return to work and to identify if any additional support is required.

The registered manager told us staff have access to a national care organisation who provides wellbeing support for any mental health needs or trauma and or distress following an accident/incident at work.

The registered manager operated an open-door policy, and staff could seek support at any time. Staff were supported with three monthly supervisions, with a pre-supervision form to encourage two-way participation and tailor the supervision to the individual staff member and assist with the identification of any problem, training need, or goal. All staff were supported with an annual appraisal and support to develop a personal development plan.