Helping Hands Godalming

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

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 always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.
People consistently described staff as kind and caring. One person said “Amazing” and “Don’t know what I would do without them”. Staff feedback consistently demonstrated a caring culture, with one member of staff telling us, "We all aim to provide safe person centred care and make sure people feel comfortable and supported by us." Staff described feeling proud of supporting people to maintain their wellbeing and independence and spoke about the positive relationships they had developed with people.
 

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.
Care records contained detailed information about people's histories, preferences, interests, goals and support needs. Staff used this information to provide personalised support that reflected what was important to each person.
We saw multiple examples of staff adapting support to people's unique circumstances and interests. For example, staff supported one person to keep guinea pigs after recognising the emotional impact the loss of a beloved pet had on their wellbeing. Another person was supported to revisit a location which held important memories from earlier in their life. Staff also incorporated music into one person's support after learning of their lifelong love of dancing and Frank Sinatra. These personalised approaches helped people maintain their identity, sense of purpose and emotional wellbeing.
Care plans were written from the person's perspective and provided clear guidance on how support should be delivered while respecting people's preferences, choices and routines. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the people they supported and how to provide care in a way that recognised and valued each person's individuality.
 

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.
Records consistently described how staff should encourage people to undertake tasks themselves where they were able and provide support only when required.
For example, one person's care plan instructed staff to encourage them to complete as much of their personal care as possible whilst receiving support with tasks they found difficult. Risk assessments balanced the management of identified risks with maintaining people's choices, dignity and independence. Detailed guidance helped staff support people safely whilst promoting autonomy.
 

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 benefited from staff who knew them well and were able to identify when their needs had changed. The provider's person-centred approach meant support was adapted in response to people's emotional, physical and social needs, helping people receive timely support when it was required.
 

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

The provider always supported and enabled staff to carry out their roles effectively. Staff told us they received training, supervision and support to help them provide good quality care. One member of staff said, "I have received a lot of training relating to this job and am encouraged to engage in continuous professional development." Another told us they were able to contact the office for support whenever they encountered unfamiliar situations.