Care Quality Services Brighton and Hove

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 75 (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.

People and relatives spoke positively about staff and how they were caring, kind and respectful. Comment included, “[Staff] absolutely care and show respect to them and preserve their dignity”, and, “[Staff member] is very caring to me and we get on well. They know me really well now and they always come on time and stays as long as they have to”.Staff gave good examples of how they upheld people’s dignity and respected them in interactions. For example, one staff member told us they would give a person space if needed when providing personal care or they could use towels to support them to remain covered.

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.

People were supported by staff who knew them well. Both people and their relatives spoke about staff who treated them as individuals. One relative said, “[Staff] never rush [person], and they always treat them with respect. They know them well and will offer them choices such as what clothes they would like to wear.”Staff told us how they adapted their approach to support people’s different needs and preferences. One staff member said, “[Person] has difficulty communicating but that doesn’t mean that can’t. I understand their non-verbal cues, or when they can use yes and no. We really know each other well and can communicate fine”. Care plans contained details about people’s preferences and how they liked their support to be delivered.

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

People were involved in planning their care and were supported to maintain choice and control throughout any care they received. Staff encouraged people to remain as independent as possible and prompted people to do what they could for themselves, for example, remaining involved in cooking meals, even if they couldn’t do all of it. People and their relatives spoke positively about how staff treated them. One person said, “I was worried that [staff] would just make choices for me, but they don’t. They treat me like a proper person”. A relative added, “[Person] was happy to be asked and given the choice about what to do. Recently they enjoyed a few minutes on their own in the shower, washing themselves. That showed me how [staff] respect [person’s] choices and treat them as an individual and not just a disabled person”.

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 spoke of confidence in staff to spot if they had changing needs and take action to ensure their wellbeing. For example, gaining medical support from GPs or nurses when this is needed. People’s care plans contained details of who should be contacted in case of emergencies. Relatives told us they were reassured that staff were responsive and caring to people’s needs.

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

The management team were supportive, and staff were given regular opportunities to develop their skills. The branch manager told us, “Good service delivery starts with the staff. We will always work hard to ensure they are supported so they can be at their best for the people using the service.”Staff told us that they felt listened to and respected in their roles. Regular spot checks were undertaken by field supervisors to ensure any issues could be quickly addressed. Staff told us how they had been able to work flexibly when needed, for example, when they had a caring role themselves.

The provider had a number of staff reward and recognition schemes. This included ‘Carer of the Month’ and ‘Cera Stars’ where they could be nominated for going above and beyond. They would then receive a small token of appreciation. There were also a number of additional benefits, including an employment assistance scheme where confidential counselling support could be accessed if needed. These schemes all supported positive morale across the staff team.