Home Instead Wembley

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• 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 service 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 80 (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 in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. A relative said, “[My family member’s] carers are very kind, compassionate and always reliable and respectful.” Another relative said, “Both [my family member] and me are 100% absolutely happy with the care. I have incredible peace because of the excellent care that they have. I cannot fault them.” Another relative said, “This company goes over and above on every level of their care and service.”

People were familiar with care staff that supported them and felt comfortable in their presence. People received care from a consistent regular team of care staff that they were familiar with. This was confirmed by people and relatives we spoke with.

Leaders carried out regular checks with people and their relatives, which assured them staff were delivering care in line with the organisation’s values.

Staff spoke about people in a respectful manner and demonstrated empathy. They told us they prioritised spending time with people so they felt comfortable in their presence.

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.

People’s spiritual and cultural needs were documented and staff respected their beliefs, for example, they offered meals which remained in line with their religious values. The management team made efforts to appropriately match people with staff based on personality traits.

People and relatives told us people were treated well by care staff. A relative said, “The care [my family member] receives is always gentle. The carers are all very kind and caring. [My family member] has a strong will and the carers are always mindful of this and respect their boundaries.”

Staff had received training in equality and diversity. Policies and procedures were in place which covered equality, diversity, and discrimination.

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

Where possible people were supported to remain as independent as they could be, where this was not physically achievable staff ensured people had choices to enable control over their lives. The registered manager explained that they emphasised promoting independence. They explained that often when people start to receive support they worry about losing their independence. The registered manager said their aim was to reassure people that they can be independent in their homes. The registered manager said, “Choices are important. Independence is about living with dignity with the minimum support required.”

Care staff had established positive relationships with the people they supported. Staff promoted people’s independence and encouraged them to do as much as possible for themselves.

People received care and support from care staff that was personalised and responsive to their individual needs. Support plans captured what people could do and how staff could support them whilst safely maintaining a level of independence. People spent their time as they wanted, staff helped them attend places of choice, this facilitated people to achieve their goals and aspirations.

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. People’s support plans contained clear and detailed information to enable staff to respond quickly to changes in needs or anticipate what support they may need. Staff reported changes quickly which enabled the management team to address individual challenges as they arose including escalation to relevant professionals.

Staff told us they knew people well. People mostly received care from the same small team of care staff.

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff we spoke with told us they felt very well supported and valued by their colleagues and management. They said that they had a great working relationship with their colleagues and genuinely felt as part of a team and valued working at the service. A member of staff told us, “It is a lovely place to work. It is a family kind of company and they get all staff involved.” Another member of staff said, “It is brilliant working here. I would say that the office and management team are brilliant and are supportive.”

The director and registered manager spoke passionately about the staff team. The director said, “We have a fantastic team- we work well as a team.” The director explained that they continuously looked out for staff talent to help utilise their skill sets. For example, a member of staff previously worked as a carer but demonstrated that they had skills to work within recruitment. This member of staff was then promoted to recruiter.

The management team had developed systems of staff support and enablement. This included access to counselling and regular team building activities. The management team provided a high degree of emphasis on staff support and this was reflected in the views of staff and the outcomes for people.

Staff were provided with regular opportunities to provide feedback and make suggestions to improve the service. Staff told us management actively listened to them and made time to do this.

Management told us that ensuring there was a positive morale amongst the staff team was an important aspect of the service. They emphasised that a well supported and happy workforce helped ensure staff provided a high level of support and this positively impacted on people’s lives.