New Horizon Care

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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 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 meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 65 (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. Overall, people and relatives told us they felt the staff were kind and compassionate. They told us, “Staff show empathy and work to [Name’s] level. Sometimes they do go over time and only leave when they are satisfied [Name] is ok,” “[Name] has always enjoyed a good shower and staff give extra time for that and never rush [Name]. [Name] has religious beliefs but it doesn’t interfere with the care; it is part of it. Both male and female staff come, and [Name] is used to them. I went in once and staff were showering [Name], they covered [Name] when I went in” and “[Name] is always treated with respect. All personal care is done in the bathroom. Staff speak to [Name] really well. They take their time to make sure [Name] understands what they are saying.” Staff spoke about people in a caring, respectful manner. A staff member told us, “I have worked with [Name] for a long time. They feel part of a family and, as a staff team, we really care for them.”

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 care plans supported people to provide individualised care in line with their preferences and needs. This promoted people’s individual identity. Relatives told us, “[Name] will only have coffee a certain way. Staff know little things and how [Name] likes the kitchen kept tidy and the bin emptied” and “[Name] has dementia and can ask random questions and say things that don’t seem to make sense. Staff are so cool, calm and collected. They understand and never get angry or laugh at [Name]. They always take the time to talk with [Name] and never rush.” Staff working in the service received training in equality and diversity, dementia, learning disabilities, autism and mental health to help them understand people’s individual needs.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Staff supported people to do as much as they could for themselves and encouraged independence and self-care. Staff involved people in making decisions and respected their choices. Care plans and records confirmed that people’s choices had been recorded and included their abilities and when they needed staff to assist them to maintain and, if possible, develop their independence. A relative told us their family member had choice and control over when they received care and support and the provider adapted to this. They told us, “Although [Name] can’t walk much, staff encourage them to do what they can. [Name] isn’t forced to do anything. They put things in place so [Name] can do it. For example, the other day [Name] wanted to do their own lunch. Staff supported them to walk across the kitchen and put the stool in the right place and set everything up to make it easy for them.” A second relative told us, “Staff will supervise [Name] making a coffee is [Name] says they want to do it.”

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. We received mixed feedback around how staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. Where staff worked well, a relative told us, “[Name] doesn’t sign, doesn’t speak but staff know how to communicate with them, and [Name] knows how to boss staff around; staff speak [Name’s] individual language”. Where people and relatives felt staff were not as responsive, they told us, “There is a language barrier; I don’t think staff know English enough to communicate well (with family member)” and “[Name] has sensory loss and dementia and needs approaches and communication to be simple. Some of the staff are too enthusiastic and it’s not an approach that suits [Name]. We have raised it and they (managers) said they would clarify it with staff.” Staff demonstrated they knew people well and were able to respond when they identified a change in people’s needs or wellbeing. A staff member told us, “We noticed a change in [Name’s] behaviour and responses; they never acted that way. We called for emergency medical assistance as we knew something was not right.” Managers liaised well with external professionals when people’s needs changed and different levels of support may be needed, for example with social workers or health professionals. The provider ensured there were clear systems in place, such as competency checks and reviews, to identify when people’s care arrangements may need reviewing. Staff were supported to respond to emergencies. A staff member told us, “The phone is always available. There is a nurse at the office to give medication support. I can call the office during opening hours. At nighttime there is an on-call number always available.”

The provider cared about and the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff provided mixed views on the level of support they received from the management team. Staff comments included, “We have experienced lots of management changes and up until recently I have felt I was raising issues, but nothing improved. Recently this has got a bit better. I feel listened to a little bit more now and things have slowly started to change; some issues have been addressed” and “Sending new staff all the time causes other staff stress as [Name] does not respond well to this. I don’t feel this is listened to enough and feel management need to listen to staff more.”