ICare (GB) Limited - Runcorn

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 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 changed to requires improvement. This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.

This service scored 55 (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. Staff gave examples of how they respected people’s wishes. One staff member said, “Respecting client information and not sharing or discussing any client information with anyone.”

The provider did not always treat people as individuals or make sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They did not always take account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. We found several examples were care plans were not up to date including the ‘about me’ section left blank. We received mixed feedback back from people’s loved ones including, “Some interact quite well with [name] others don’t, so very inconsistent”, “They are not tidy workers, dishes not clean and put away”, “They are kind and treat [name] with dignity and respect” and “They are very respectful.”

The provider did not always promote people’s independence, so people did not always know their rights and have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. We received mixed feedback from people and their loved ones. Comments included, “The carers do not encourage [name] to maintain her independence, and they should” and “The basic skills are totally missing and the care is not to standard.” Staff gave us examples of how they supported people to remain independent and how they encouraged people to be in control of their support as much as possible.

The provider did not always listen to and understand people’s needs, views and wishes. The provider could not be assured they knew people well as they had neglected engaging with people and their loved ones resulting in people views and wishes not being accurate or current. We saw from records staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. Staff gave examples of how they supported people with their wishes and needs promptly and in a supportive way such as helping them with personal hygiene and activities in the community. Staff told us if they had a concern about a person, they would support the person and contact the office for support. We noted from people’s care records, staff contacted healthcare professionals when required.

The provider cared about the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to deliver person-centred care. Overall, we saw the provider was making efforts to support staff and empower them to do their jobs. However, some staff felt they were not listened to and did not feel confident concerns about some people would be actioned in a timely way. We saw evidence the management team was working hard to address issues around timeliness and acting quickly when concerns were raised.