Because We Care Northampton

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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has remained requires improvement.

This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.

This service scored 60 (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 treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. People were supported by a small and consistent care team, including the provider, and were described as kind and caring. A relative said, “The carers are all very pleasant, polite, professional.” A person told us, “They (staff) are extremely kind and considerate to my needs.” Staff described how they respected people’s privacy and dignity when supporting with their personal care.

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. People’s individual needs and preferences were well understood by the provider and staff. A relative said, “[Person] has had the same carers. They are all kind.” People’s communication needs were assessed and understood by staff. Further improvements were required with care planning records as they continued to lack sufficient details regarding people as individuals, including preferences, goals and aspirations.

People’s independence was promoted, and staff enabled people to do as much for themselves as possible. People had mobility aids in place to support and maximise their independence. People’s care records showed care staff respected people’s day to day choices and decisions when delivering care and support. However, the provider was unable to demonstrate they had consistently supported people to make decisions about their care and regularly check people’s level of understanding. In addition, missing care records had some impact on people making everyday decisions about their care. For example, a staff member described how she was unable to support a person to make a choice about their personal care due to incomplete daily records. They said, “[Person] will say to me, ‘when did I last have a shower?’ Sometimes I can answer [them], sometimes I can't.”

People and their relatives told us that staff responded to people’s needs and aimed to reduce any discomfort, concern or distress. Staff documented reports of pain or discomfort within daily care records. However, due to gaps and inconsistencies in these records, the provider could not always demonstrate that staff responded promptly or in the most appropriate way, while also respecting people’s wishes, needs and preferences. For example, staff identified that a person’s urine output was low and planned to monitor the situation and seek advice from the district nursing team the following morning. However, no daily care records were completed for the following day, meaning the provider was unable to evidence what action was taken or how the person’s needs were monitored and responded to.

The provider did not effectively identify and respond to the wellbeing needs of staff. Since the last inspection, limited action had been taken to improve staff wellbeing, including opportunities to suggest ways to improve the service or staff experiences. Staff described difficulties with communication between them and the provider, including not always being told when visits have been added to their rota. A staff member said, “[The provider] doesn’t always reply to you.”