Oswestry Also known as Approved Care and Support

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.

Relatives told us their family members were treated well and with respect and described carers as, “nice.” Another relative told us, “They are a values-based company. The care team are very supportive.” The registered manager identified the caring and compassionate nature of the service as a key strength. This was reflected in discussions during focus group meetings, where the importance of kindness and empathy was highlighted.

We observed how the service’s values promoted a culture of caring, emphasising kindness, empathy, and compassion when supporting people. Staff told us they felt well treated, supported by the provider, and happy in their roles.

We saw how the provider had planned a community Christmas meal where staff, people and relatives were all welcome to attend. One relative told us, “They are clearly involved in the local community and (person) has been invited and taken out to events they have planned i.e. Christmas lunch, activities, with staff which has been lovely, and they don’t have to provide any of that. They have gone above and beyond.” We were told how celebrations are held each season to bring together staff and people using the service.

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.

Staff treated people as individuals. The provider had created care plans with people to outline their needs and how they want to be cared for. People using the service and their relatives felt staff knew them well, including their preferences. A person told us, “The staff listen to what I want. I usually shower every other day; they really listen to my requests. If they have spare time, they offer to do other tasks so sometimes they might help with changing beds, threading needles - whatever. They always offer.”

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

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Staff told us, they encouraged people to be independent by encouraging people to do tasks themselves offering support as needed. People using the service told us, “They let me be as independent as possible, if on one day I can’t do something they do it but if I can do it myself staff give me time to do it myself. I decide.”

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.

Staff responded to people’s immediate needs. One member of staff told us, “I always look for an alternative way to encourage someone to continue to do things for themselves but will always offer support if someone wants me to or if I can see they are struggling.” Call times were monitored through an electronic system. Some people using the service told us carers did not always stay for the full duration of care calls. We saw this issue had been identified through management audits and feedback from people and had been addressed at multiple focus group meetings. The provider had out of hours contact details which people and staff could call if they needed to speak with someone outside of office hours.

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

The provider’s values demonstrated a commitment to staff wellbeing, offering incentives such as gifts and salary enhancements to recognise and reward staff. The registered manager promoted an open-door policy, encouraging staff to share concerns and ideas freely. Staff told us, they valued being able to contact managers for support whenever needed and described the registered managers as approachable and responsive. Feedback from staff varied regarding shift patterns, particularly travelling between care calls. We were told having calls close together distance wise supported them to reduce travel which some staff found helpful. However, other staff highlighted there was not always enough time allocated between care calls to allow for sufficient time to walk between calls, which impacted on their wellbeing.

We observed the office environment was welcoming, with designated areas available for staff to hold private conversations when required. This contributed to a positive and supportive workplace culture.