Senad Community Ltd-Coventry

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.
At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good.
 

This service scored 85 (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. People, relatives and professionals gave positive feedback about the way staff treated people.

People told us staff were kind and treated them well. One person told us, “Staff make me happy, not sad.” Another person said staff spoke to them nicely and listened to them. This was important because many people needed staff to understand their communication, emotional responses and signs of discomfort in ways that were not always verbal.

Relatives described staff as warm, caring and respectful. One relative said, “My relative lives in a brilliant place and the carers are like our family.” Another relative said staff were polite, kind and respectful when they visited. Relatives told us staff kept people clean, well presented and supported in ways that protected their dignity.

Staff understood dignity in practical ways. One person did not like curtains but still needed privacy in their home. Staff arranged frosted glass, so the person’s privacy was protected without creating discomfort for them. In another example, staff recognised when a person needed privacy because of physical discomfort and supported them discreetly to the bathroom rather than allowing them to remain distressed or embarrassed in a shared area.

Professionals gave positive feedback about kindness and dignity. They described staff as compassionate and person-centred. This showed people were treated with warmth and respect, and that staff adapted support to protect people’s dignity, comfort and emotional wellbeing.

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. Staff took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture, unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Care plans and staff practice reflected people’s communication needs, sensory preferences, cultural needs, religious needs, relationships, interests and daily routines. This was particularly important because the service supported autistic people, and people who had a learning disability or did not communicate verbally. Staff used people’s known behaviours, body language, gestures, routines and emotional responses to understand what mattered to them and how they wanted to be supported.

Relatives told us staff knew people well. One relative described a long-standing support worker as being “like family” because of the relationship they had developed with their relative. They told us, “This unique relationship has helped my relative feel safe, understood and comfortable with staff support.”

Staff adapted support to reflect people’s individual preferences rather than using a generic model. For example, staff supported people to maintain important family relationships, follow preferred routines, access activities that reflected their interests and make choices about how their home and daily life looked. Staff also recognised when people’s cultural or religious needs mattered to them and included this in day-to-day support.

This personalised approach had a positive impact. People were supported by staff who understood their history, communication and preferences, which helped reduce anxiety, promote trust and improve engagement. The evidence showed people were not treated as tasks or packages of care, but as individuals with distinct identities, strengths and aspirations.

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

People were supported to make everyday choices about food, activities, routines, relationships, personal care and how they spent their time. Staff used communication methods people understood, including gestures, objects, pictures, body language and familiar routines. This helped people express preferences, make choices and refuse support where they wished to do so.

Staff supported people to build independence gradually and safely. People were encouraged to cook, clean, shop, manage household routines, access the community and develop confidence outside their homes. Staff balanced safety with people’s right to try new experiences.

One person was supported to travel abroad with staff. This required careful planning, risk assessment and staff who understood the person’s communication, routines, health needs and emotional wellbeing. The trip enabled the person to experience a meaningful holiday outside their usual environment, while remaining safely supported by staff who knew them well. One relative told us, “Staff did amazing things with my relative, including supporting appointments, holidays and community activities. I could not have done this myself.”

Another person moved from family care into their own home with support from staff. Staff helped the person develop daily living skills, maintain important family relationships and adjust to independent living at their own pace. This also helped their relative return to being a family member rather than a full-time carer. The person gained more control over their home, routines and future.

People benefited because staff saw independence as part of care, not an optional extra. Staff balanced choice and safety, supported people to try new experiences and helped people gain confidence, skills and control over their lives.

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 discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff knew people’s communication well and recognised subtle signs that a person needed support. This included changes in body language, facial expressions, gestures, posture, mood, behaviour, appetite, mobility or engagement. This was important because many people did not communicate verbally and could show pain, anxiety or distress in individual ways.

Staff gave examples of recognising when people’s presentation changed. In one example, staff identified that a person’s physical discomfort was linked to how they were moving and presenting. Staff escalated this and helped identify the need for further checks. This reduced the risk of the person’s discomfort being missed because they could not explain it verbally.

Relatives described staff responding calmly when people became distressed. One relative said staff managed their family member’s distress “calmly” and helped them settle. Staff used reassurance, distraction, quiet spaces, preferred routines and familiar communication to support people when they became anxious or unsettled.

Staff knew people well and responded to signs of discomfort or distress quickly. Staff promoted good, person-centred responses which reduced the risk of people’s pain, discomfort or distress being missed.

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.

The provider had formal wellbeing arrangements in place. These included a 24-hour confidential Employee Assistance Programme, counselling and specialist advice, flexible working, menopause support, workplace adjustments, domestic abuse guidance, Wellness Recovery Action Plans, wellbeing events, health promotion activities, financial wellbeing support and signposting to external services. Staff also had access to personal safety measures, including SOS alert functionality on work devices.

These arrangements helped staff access support in ways that reflected their individual circumstances. For example, Wellness Recovery Action Plans supported staff experiencing mental health difficulties or returning to work after absence. Flexible working helped staff manage work-life balance, and financial wellbeing support helped staff access advice and cost-of-living support.

The provider also responded compassionately when staff experienced difficult events at work. Following the death of a person who had been supported by the service for many years, leaders recognised the emotional impact on staff who had built meaningful relationships with the person. The provider arranged bereavement counselling so staff could access professional support and a safe space to process their grief.

This had a positive impact because staff were supported emotionally, practically and financially, and leaders recognised the emotional demands of care work. Staff benefited from support that helped them feel valued, safe and able to continue providing compassionate care to people.

During supervisions staff wellbeing was check on and supported was offered where people were struggling professionally and or personally.