One Step South Domiciliary Care Agency

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 80 (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. We saw strong and positive relationships based on trust and respect between staff and people. Interactions respected that people were adults with their own rights and choices, and treated them as equals in their own care. One person told us “If I’m a little bit down, staff will always talk to me. I love my key workers. They support me to go to the garden centre and local market which I love. I love living here”. Another person explained “Staff are really good, they talk through and reassure me about personal care and support me to do as much as I can by myself.” Staff we spoke to took pride in the achievements of the people they worked with and reflected how people had also supported them to learn and grow. One staff member told us, “I enjoy working with (person name), but I also learn from them. They are teaching me British Sign Language”. Another person had formed a really close relationship with their key worker who was from a different cultural background, and had been exploring their culture together which included the person learning to sing a song in their language.

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. There was a commitment to treating as people as individuals with their own rights and strengths. Each person had their own goals with clear plans of how staff would work them to help them achieve this. One person had explained to staff that they had never been to a nightclub, so a staff member had launched a local community nightclub specifically for people with a learning disability or autistic people. This had now grown significantly and was taking place regularly, with people we spoke to explaining how much this opportunity to grow new relationships and engage with the wider community meant to them. A staff member involved in running the club explained how they would coproduce these events based of people’s feedback saying, “People have told us they would like a country and western themed event, so we have arranged this. Another person told us they had never been to a Prom and would really value having this life experience, so we made it happen and this was attended by the mayor to crown the Prom King and Queen”. One relative told us, “The nightclub is a community group which my relative enjoys attending. I’m happy, he’s happy, he’s safe, that’s everything we can ask”.

We saw other examples of how staff were working closely will people to support them in achieving their own individual wishes and goals. One person explained they had recently been supported to take part in a local carnival where staff worked with them to help decorate their own float. A relative told us, “My relatives likes going out and about and watching people, they like interesting buildings such as historic buildings or castles, or going to watch the train. Staff are very good at sending photos, I get messages when they are out and about.”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People had control over their daily lives, including who they lived with. The manager at one service we visited explained that before a person moved to the service, they would talk to people they would be living with to understand what they would be looking for to ensure they were at the heart of decision making. This included arranging visits to ensure people could meet people first and felt comfortable and safe living with them. The manager stated, “We recently chatted to people to people to see if they would feel comfortable in having another person life with them. They confirmed they were and stated they would love somebody who also liked horror films. We said we would try our best!”. The provider was complying closely with the REACH standards which are a set of principles setting out how people living in supported living should have control over their care and accommodation. People who lived at the service had recently been involved in creating a video explaining these standards and what they meant to them.

People were in control of their care and could decide when and how they could use the care hours that were assigned to them. They regularly met with their staff to plan out what they would like to do, and agree goals for growing their independence and ability to do tasks by themselves. For example, a number of people during our visit were being supported with managing their finances, with staff helping them understand how to do so safely whilst being able to use it do the things that mattered to them such as decorating their flat and buying Christmas presents for loved ones. One person explained, “I’m about to go Christmas shopping with my key worker. Everybody here plans their own individual menus and we will go out individually to buy what we want”.

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 and their relatives told us that the staff team knew them well, and were responsive if they needed additional support. One relative told us, “Brilliant care- above 100%. Staff know how to keep my relative calm, they know their dislikes and likes and there is always a staff member with them and available if needed”. For people who may not be able to communicate pain or discomfort easily, there was clear guidance on visual cues that may they needed additional support in the moment. Staff could clearly articulate how they would respond in an individualised way if people were distressed to reassure them and support their mental wellbeing. One staff member told us about a person they support, “We have daily talk time with (person name) which is important to them, including the option to talk to a different staff member should they wish and would make them feel more comfortable.”

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff spoke passionately about how they felt valued and supported by management at all levels in the organisation. Where people required additional support due to personal circumstances, they felt safe and supported by the provider and that they were treated with kindness and compassion. One staff member told us “I recently have had personal struggles and the provider gave me all the time and space I needed to support my wellbeing. It was never a conversation I dreaded having with them, and I have never had that level of support and understanding before”. Staff throughout the organisation felt they were invested in, given the tools and resources to provide care that met people’s needs and empowered with the confidence to progress in their own careers. There was a strong focus of supporting staff in the organisation move to more senior roles, and staff spoke with pride about their own personal achievements which they credited to belief given to them by leaders. One staff member stated “This is the best care company I’ve worked for. Always support you to learn. I feel staff are invested in and if there’s areas where we feel we need more support to grow we can request it at any time”. Another staff member told us “We’re all given a chance to share our input. They empowered me to go for a promotion and believed in me.”