Comfort Call-North Tyneside

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 improved to outstanding.

This meant people were truly respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service.
 

This service scored 90 (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 was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.
There was a caring culture throughout the organisation and staff told us ensuring people were treated with kindness and compassion was central to this.
At Christmas, and in their own time, managers and staff made meals for people who did not have any family contact over the festive period. Staff took time to personally deliver these, prepare the food and spend time with people on Christmas Day. This demonstrated an extremely thoughtful approach to those people who would have otherwise been alone.
People consistently described staff as caring, considerate and respectful. One person told us, “They never rush me and always make time to sit and talk. They are absolutely fabulous, all of them.”
Relatives spoke highly the care their loved ones received. They described staff as kind and caring. Relatives commented how staff spoke to people in a nice manner. One relative commented how staff assisted their loved one to attend a family event. They described how staff, “Didn’t just meet their care needs during the event but went above and beyond.”
A healthcare professional told us, “Staff are committed to promoting people’s wellbeing, independence and dignity."

The provider treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they 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 had care plans detailing their individual needs. Staff knew people well and spoke warmly about them. Staff had taken time to really get to know people and those important to them. We saw several examples of where staff had supported people where care packages had previously broken down. Staff worked with people as individuals to uncover their needs, build rapport in order to regain trust. Staff consistently developed therapeutic relationships with people, supporting people to regain confidence and, where appropriate independence.

Relatives told us how staff had supported their loved ones through their individual approach. One person told us how staff would, “sing and dance with them when they were feeling sad.” Another told us, “[The staff] didn’t just come in and do a job – they knew me and understood what mattered. I honestly think I would not have got back to work if it wasn’t for [the staff] going out of their way for me.”

In another example, staff reorganised their rota outside agreed hours to assist a person to attend a local community event which was really important to them. The provider covered the additional care requirements necessary to ensure the person’s wishes could be safely met. This personalised approach demonstrated the commitment by staff to ensuring each individual person was supported to achieve their goals.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.
People and relatives said staff promoted their independence and encouraged them to do as much for themselves as possible. One family member said, “They encourage them in really nice way, but they never force them.”
People knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Staff respected people’s choices and ensured they could exercise control over their own decisions. The provider had made changes to people’s visit times on their request and to allow them to attend to personal matters, social events and things of interest.
A healthcare professional told us, “The service has supported individuals to remain as independent as possible while ensuring their assessed care and support needs are met."
 

The provider was exceptional in how they listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s assessed needs in a timely manner and acted to minimise any discomfort, distress or concern.

Care plans contained clear information about best ways to support people’s immediate needs in the event of a change in condition or due to distress.

The provider responded promptly to requests from people who were in need of immediate support or where their discharge home from another care provider was delayed due to limited available community care. This provider’s responsiveness to immediate requests, allowed people to return home sooner and avoid the need for unnecessary extended hospital stays.

Staff responded to support carers of people where they were going through a difficult or challenging time by arranging extra support, respite care and reassurance. The provider supported a carer of a person to secure urgent respite care after they reported their worries. The awareness of staff and managers to the potential physical, emotional and social impact caregiving can have on people demonstrated a responsiveness, not only to the needs of the person receiving care and support, but also to their relatives.

Where staff had concerns about changing health, care and support needs, they sought consent from the person to inform managers who alerted the GP or nurse. Staff also shared information with health and social care partners where they had concerns about a person’s safety and wellbeing. Managers had detailed oversight of the service and the needs of people receiving care and support. People could contact staff out-of-hours in the event of a concern or immediate need.
One person told us, “I do have their number and can contact them at any time."

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.
Staff received regular supervisions, were invited to meetings and there were regular wellbeing checks carried out by managers. Rotas were prepared in advance with suitable rest periods and time off.
Staff accessed a wellbeing application and managers supported staff with flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments where required. There were staff recognition initiatives to acknowledge the good work staff did.
Staff commented positively about managerial work related and personal support during difficult periods. Staff told us they found the training for their role enabled them to deliver best care possible and they felt their work was valued.