Derbyshire Care Services HQ

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.

People told us staff were caring. One person said, “When I was having a bad day they would get down to my side of the bed and reassure me. That’s what you need when you are having a bad day.” Another person told us, “Staff are so giving and caring I really want to praise them. They style my hair and say how fabulous I look, to keep my spirits up. Its clear they love their job.”

Staff understood promoting people’s dignity and privacy was important to them and told us the actions they took to help people feel comfortable. For example, staff told us they spoke with people to involve them, checked what people wanted to do for themselves and made sure doors and curtains were closed to create a private space. These actions helped to promote people’s privacy and dignity.

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.

One person told us how they received individual care. They said, “My mobility has declined markedly this year, but the carers still ensure I do as much as I can for myself. They make sure my electric wheelchair is always charged and I’m able to plan my limited time outside the house, around my care visits.” A relative told us, “Our cultural needs were fully discussed in initial assessment, and they have been fully respected with no issues. I see genuine caring and attention to detail in how they show respect to [my family member] and the family home all the time. When holiday cover is needed for the regular staff, they send people they already know.” The provider worked in a way to help ensure people’s needs and preferences were met.

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

People felt staff promoted their independence. One person said, “Staff are very patient waiting for me to complete things I have to do.” Another person told us, “I’m now trained to do my own medicines, because it helps me be more independent.” A relative added, “Staff make their porridge every morning. Their call started as half an hour, but this has been reduced to respect their wish to be more independent and reflected an improvement in their mobility.”

Staff understood how important it was for people’s choices and independence to be promoted and told us how they helped people with this. One staff member told us, “If we just say the name of food people may not know what it is, so I will take a photo of what they can choose from so they can see the picture and they can then choose.” This helped people be actively involved in making choices and maintaining their independence.

The provider was exceptional in how they 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 spoke highly of how care staff responded to their needs. One person told us, “If I am tearful and tell the office then a carer will arrive to see how I am. They will come round and make me a cup of tea to cheer me up.” Another person said, “Staff adapt the way they wash me as my skin is so sensitive. They pat my skin and make sure they use the appropriate equipment, so I don’t fall, and they are gentle with me.” Relatives also felt staff responded well to people’s changing needs. One relative said, “Staff go above and beyond, for example a while ago [my family member] had to be taken into hospital and the staff stayed with her until the ambulance arrived.”

The provider used digital systems for care planning, risk assessment, medicines management and communicating with staff. Leaders told us this enabled them to make any changes to people’s care as they were identified, and staff would have the up to date information immediately. This helped staff be able to respond to people’s immediate needs.

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

Leaders told us they valued their staff teams and worked to support them in a variety of ways. For example, leaders made sure staff could access individual support with any training needs and accommodated flexible working arrangements wherever possible.

One person told us, “Staff seem happy in their work, they are willing to help and care, they are pleasant and cheerful.” Staff told us they felt supported, although some staff felt this was not always consistent depending on who they spoke with. Processes were in place so that staff had regular reviews of their performance throughout the year and leaders told us staff could arrange meetings with them to discuss anything in between these times.