Visiting Angels Care Also known as Visiting Angels

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs. At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 71 (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 made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs. staff knew people well and demonstrated this through the way care was delivered. Staff were able to describe people’s individual needs, preferences and routines and gave clear examples of specific actions they took to support each person in a personalised way. Relatives said staff encouraged people to make choices about their lives and about the support they received. They said where this was not possible staff would ask the relatives to contribute to the process to help enable staff to respect people's decisions and choices. One relative said, “We are often asked for our thoughts on [relatives] care, when we access [loved-ones] care records, we can see these have been put in place."

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity. People’s care records evidenced they received consistent care across different settings and from different healthcare professionals. This included with their GP and community nursing teams. Staff worked effectively with health professionals to maintain continuity of care. They made timely referrals to other services when needed, and staff followed professional advice to ensure people received appropriate support. A professional told us, “Communication with Visiting Angels was very good, staff listened and were pro-active in what they were being told."

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. People's communication needs were assessed and information to do with people’s communication preferences and how staff might meet those needs were documented. Information was available in alternative formats when required. The registered manager demonstrated an understanding of their responsibilities under the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which is a legal requirement for health and care services to identify, record, share and meet people’s communication needs. This includes people who are blind, deaf, have a learning disability or other conditions affecting how they receive and understand information. This helped to ensure people received information in a way that was accessible and meaningful to them.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result. People were encouraged to share any concerns or complaints. People and their relatives told us they had opportunities to provide feedback about their experiences of care and support and were aware of how to raise any issues or complaints if needed. One relative told us, “No we have not had any concerns, but we know who to contact if we did.” The service also kept people who use their services informed regularly, by sharing a service magazine.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. The provider had equality and diversity policies in place. Staff completed equality and diversity training, which helped to ensure they understood the potential barriers to accessing care people may face and how they could be supported to overcome them. This helped to ensure people could access care and support when they needed, promoting equality and protecting their rights.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this. Policies on equality and diversity were up to date and available to staff. Staff had received training on the Equality Act and Human Rights legislation. Staff we spoke to were knowledgeable on how they should ensure people could receive the same quality of care from the service. One staff member told us, “I adapt my approach to each client using patient-centred care, because different clients have different needs, and follow care plans, policies, and training so everyone receives safe, reliable support. Quality care also relies on good communication and accurate documentation to make sure every care call meets the same professional standard."

People were not always supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life. When reviewing the care records of a person receiving end-of-life care, we identified gaps in documented information relating to care tasks, as well as the person’s wishes and preferences. This was fed back to leaders, who acknowledged there had been a delay in uploading relevant documentation to the electronic system in a timely way. This person’s care records were updated promptly following this feedback. However, Information on DNACPR ‘Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation’ was kept in the person’s care plan and could be presented to professionals promptly in an emergency.