Alcester Home Care Agency Ltd Also known as Alcester Primary Care Centre

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 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 said staff were kind and respectful. One person said, “They are so good and so helpful and it's really good to have them coming in because they chat to me. It really makes a difference to my life because I can be a bit isolated. When they come on the last visit, they will always make me a cup of hot chocolate which I look forward to.” A relative said, “The old lot [care staff] who have now left were lovely but with the new ones we haven't built that relationship yet. With some of them I have a bit of difficulty hearing, but they are generally quite kind.” One relative of a person who received personal care shared an example with us demonstrating how staff protected their relative’s privacy when away from their home. The relative said, “On the afternoon, staff take them out to the farm shop or to a cafe and they're always conscious and careful of not announcing or showing that they are carers which helps to protect 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 were supported to make choices and decisions about their lives, including how to spend their time and their care preferences. People were asked if they wanted care staff of a particular gender to support them on their care calls. We saw where people had specified a preference, this was followed. The provider’s care call allocation system only allocated staff whom the person preferred which helped ensure people’s preferences were respected.

People told us staff supported them when needed and understood them well enough to know when to help or to let them make their own choices based on their personal preferences. For example, staff helped people maintain their hydration and nutrition. One person told us, “My [family member] puts meals in the fridge freezer and usually I can prepare those myself, but I know that the carers would do that for me if I needed them to. They always leave me with drinks particularly milk and orange juice.” One person said staff helped them with food shopping and on occasions, staff helped them get things off their list or reminded them if they needed something that was not written down. Another person told us how they felt supported and respected by staff. This person said, “Staff are very respectful of my home and will always check with me before opening cupboards or wardrobes and they do check with me that I'm happy for them to be there and to help me. I did have a (potential health problem) and some of the older care staff were really supportive, and I was able to talk to them about my fears.”

Staff spoke about people in a kind and considerate way. Staff told us they enjoyed working to help to people because they wanted to make a difference. One staff member said they knew the people they supported really well. They said, “I make sure I resolve any issues for them, make them feel looked after, and part of the family. This gives me a sense of achievement.”

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

Overall, people and their relatives were content and felt people’s independence and choice was understood and promoted by staff. However, some people felt less in control of their care because of recent changes in the staff supporting them. One relative said, “They are quite good in that they will encourage [Name] to go into the kitchen in his wheelchair and assist them with meal prep or certainly at least be there whilst they prepare some food. However, some of that has gone by the by with the new people that are now coming because they just don't know him as well as the old regulars (staff).” Another relative said, “I'm not sure that all the carers, particularly some of the newer ones understand that sometimes they need to just do things rather than ask him too many questions for example.” Whilst people said some new staff were not always as knowledgeable as their previous care staff, they continued to be offered choices, and they were supported by staff who encouraged them to be independent.

Staff understood maintaining independence and supporting people to do what they could was important and vital to put people in control. One staff member said to us, “I encourage people do things even if they are limited. It’s important to look past the impossible and try and make it happen.” They said it gave them satisfaction and comfort knowing they could help people still do things they used to, with time, support and encouragement. Another staff member said, “I will ask them and if they have refused, I will leave it for a bit. If people still refused, I'm not going to say you must do this, I don’t force it. I encourage them as much as possible and want them to know I'm here but still let them do what they want.”

The provider did not always listen to and understand people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Most of the people and relatives we spoke with shared how the recent staff changes had impacted on the care and support they received. It was evident from their comments, people and relatives were not informed of the staff changes, that resulted in some people’s care staff member leaving the agency. People and relatives were disappointed they were not communicated with at the time, to help them understand and plan. However, people felt staff were responsive whilst recognising new staff needed time to get to know them. One relative said, “They (staff) are very responsive. For example, if I make a comment about the bath towels not being very clean and I phone to let them know, they always respond and put things in place to make sure it doesn't happen again. They never get defensive.”

Not everyone we spoke with had been involved in their care plan reviews. One relative said, “We have had care plans I'm sure, but I really don't know when the last one was done. I think it might be a while ago but because I'm here all the time, then I know what is happening and what needs to be done.” Other people and relatives were not always aware when care plans were reviewed and if so, they were not always consulted. However, no one felt their care plan was not being followed by staff. One person gave an example of how they had cancelled previous care calls and then introduced them again without any issues. People said for most of the time, they had their care calls at the time they wanted. If people needed staff to do any extra tasks, people said this was done. We checked examples of staff log in and log out times and we could see, staff stayed for the duration. On some occasions, staff stayed longer than required to make sure everything was done.

Staff said changes in how people received their care was communicated efficiently. One staff member said if they noticed any changes, “We send an action request, and the office staff pick it up and it gets put onto the person’s call, so the next staff member has this information. We also have a WhatsApp for care staff and the office staff have access. We can send a message and before my call, I usually look at this first thing or the night before in case someone has had a bad day and at least I am prepared.”

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

Staff told us the provider respected their individual needs and requirements which helped them focus on people’s care. One staff member said, “The manager let me work the school hours and they adjusted my shifts, so it fitted in. They are very accommodating to life. If a situation comes up and you need time of, other carers will pick up your shift.”