Cera - Derbyshire

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 as 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 70 (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 told us the staff were compassionate, kind and treated them with dignity and respect. For example, a person’s relative told us, “My [relative] has received care from [Cera-Derbyshire] since 2023. Care has been brilliant.” Another person’s relative told us, “They’re usually on time when they visit. But I know they’re going to turn up, because they let me know if they are going to be late. They stay for the time they should. It’s a consistent group of carers, mostly the same staff visit my [relative].”

People told us the staff listened to them and communicated with them appropriately. Staff provided care in accordance with people’s preferences and requirements. A person’s relative told us, “Yes, care is respectful and dignified. Independence is encouraged. We’re in charge of the care.”

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.

Some people’s relatives told us they wanted the provider to ensure people’s preferences were followed when allocating staff of different sexes to support them with personal care tasks. For example, some people preferred female staff only to assist them with showering etc, whereas other people did not have a particular staff preference.

The registered manager told us they would review their rotas to ensure people’s staff preferences were accommodated as far as possible. They also told us they would take people’s preferences into account when assessing whether Cera-Derbyshire could provide support to people enquiring about receiving a care service from them.

People’s individual needs were understood and detailed in their person-centred care plans. Staff told us they understood the importance of treating people as individuals. Care plans included any relevant personal, communication, cultural, social or religious needs, which might be important for care staff to understand when providing care and support.

People’s care plans were available to staff to refer to for guidance on how to support individuals. A staff member told us, “From my experience I enjoy that Cera-Derbyshire tend to try, as much as possible, to match carers with people. I have a regular rota, which works well for myself, and I believe also the clients, as we get to know each other, build trust and form a positive professional relationship.”

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 experience real choice and control as far as they were able. People’s care needs, preferences, and aspirations were detailed in their individual care plans, and staff had access to those documents to use as a guide.

People were supported by staff to maintain as much independence, choice and control over their lives as possible.

People were supported to maintain relationships which were important to them. The provider was supportive of that and encouraged people to maintain those links.

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 were alert to people’s needs and took the time to observe, communicate and engage people in discussions about their immediate needs. Changes in people’s health status, and emotional states were also monitored. That information was used to find out how to respond in the most appropriate way to support people and ensure care was provided in accordance with their wishes.

Staff knew people well and could quickly recognise when people needed urgent help or when a person was starting to experience a decline in their wellbeing. For example, a person told us, “I don’t know what I’d do without them. They always know when I’m feeling down.”

The provider did not fully demonstrate they always cared about or promoted the wellbeing of their staff. They did not always support or enable staff to deliver person-centred care.

Staff feedback was mixed in respect of the support they received from the senior staff in the provider’s office. For example, a staff member told us, “The office is okay with us. We get our rotas from there and the office ask us how the ladies are that we support. They are supportive of us. If we ask about something they look into it and get back to us.” However, other staff told us they did not feel well supported. For example, another staff member told us, “We used to have regular team meetings, monthly newsletters, carer of the month incentives, previous management would have drop-in days where carers could pop in for a brew and just have a catch up. Now we have nothing.”

Staff told us they did not always feel valued by the provider. Some staff told us short notice changes to their rotas caused them difficulties. They could see when rota changes had been suddenly made, via their hand-held electronic device, but the office team had not always contacted them to explain why the changes were made.

A staff member told us, “I love the job, and the working with clients, but the organisation of the rotas is just terrible sometimes. Managers don't seem to appreciate what we do, and the rota changes make it chaotic for us. We can't plan, because they change the shifts and the runs at a moment's notice. There is just too much messing about.”

Some staff told us they did not always feel the provider acted on the issues staff raised. For example, a staff member told us, “As far as I'm aware concerns are listened to. Although I'm not sure they are always dealt with.” Another staff member told us, “When I have raised concerns to the office, I haven’t heard back about any outcome or actions taken.”

We raised these issues with the registered manager who told us they would immediately take action to ensure there was better communication between the rota co-ordinators and the care staff when rota changes were necessary at short notice. They also told us they would investigate other ways of engaging with the care staff so they felt more supported.