Transcare Secure Services - Birmingham

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

We reviewed kindness, compassion and dignity; treating people as individuals, independence, choice and control; responding to peoples immediate needs and workforce wellbeing and enablement as part of the caring key question. We were unable to rate caring during the last inspection due to insufficient evidence. We have rated them as good during this assessment. We were unable to observe care and treatment during our onsite assessment due to there being no transfer during this time. We reviewed the feedback the service had collected and found staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. Staff provided emotional support to patients where this was required.

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.

We were unable to evidence observations of staff caring for patients' as over the 2 days of the assessment the service did not have any transfers booked. However, the service was able to provide patient feedback, which was positive. “The team were very patient and understanding/ friendly and approachable”. “I felt respected and helped”. “Staff looked after me”. “Staff made me feel safe”. “Staff were amazing. Thumbs up”. “Well supported, caring team”. “Good staff, caring and friendly”. “Cool guys”. The service also received feedback from people who were supporting the patients, these stated. “Thank you, so kind”. “Staff spoke well to the client and ourselves”.

Staff told us they maintained the dignity and respect of patients, taking into consideration the individual needs of patients such as those patients who were leaving home for the first time or being taken on long journeys. When planning a patient journey consideration was given to the least restrictive restraint for patients. Staff spoke passionately about patient care and ensuring patients have time and felt listened to in relation to their care and treatment. Staff told us they felt they were treated with respect by their colleagues and service managers.

We were unable to evidence observations of staff caring for patient’s as over the 2 days of the assessment the service did not have any transfers booked. However, the service was able to provide patient feedback, which was positive.

We were unable to evidence observations of staff caring for patients' as over the 2 days of the assessment the service did not have any transfers booked. However, we reviewed feedback from patients and stakeholders. The information provided identified staff appeared to treat patients as individuals and took their time to ensure they were ready for their transfer. The service understood patient's individual needs and preferences, and this was logged and identified in the patients transfer referral form and post transfer form, these included identifying if the patient requested male or female staff, using translators were required and other forms of communication including picture exchange communication (PEC) systems.

Staff told us information on patients' needs was collected at the booking stage of the process. For example, they would check if a translator was required where the patients first language was not English, the organisation booking the patient transfer journey would provide a translator. Staff told us they also had access to translation services. Flashcards were also available as a communication tool. Staff told us PECs were available for patients. The service also had feedback forms for patients in PECs form.

We were unable to evidence observations of staff caring for patients' as over the 2 days of the assessment the service did not have any transfers booked. However, the service was able to provide patient feedback, which was positive.

There were processes in place to ensure staff treated patients as individuals. This included ensuring they were able to meet their communication needs as well as identifying ways in which they could help patients relax during their transfer through the use of music. This had been an innovation which the service identified having completed some reviews of how they were able to meet the needs of patients during transfers. Information provided after the assessment indicated staff provided patients with the opportunity for them to choose the music.

We were unable to evidence observations of interactions between patients and staff over the 2 days of assessment as the service did not have any transfers booked. However, feedback collected by the service showed patients had their independence promoted and were given choice around their care and treatment.

Staff told us they encouraged patients to make informed choices and maintain their independence whilst they cared for them. They ensured patients understood their rights and tried to ensure they used the least restrictive methods when transporting patients.

The service had policies and processes in place to ensure staff promoted patient independence and control over their own care and treatment. Staff had tools in place to ensure they were able to communicate with patients to enable them to make informed choices about their care and treatment.

We were unable to evidence observations of interactions between patients and staff as over the 2 days of the assessment the service did not have any transfers booked. However, feedback and transfer report that the service had collected, identified that the staff responded to the patients' needs this included offering food and drinks to the patient’s and also administering medication as required. When the service completed the patient transfer form, they identified if there were any concerns in relation to male or female staff supporting the transfer, they then ensured the staffing mix met this request. The service also ensured a female staff member was present when transferring a female patient.

Staff told us they would gather information about a patient's coping strategies and communication needs. They were able to give examples where they had supported patients emotional and physical needs. This included a patient who became distressed at moving to a new service; the patient was pregnant and unable to speak English. The organisation requesting the transfer had not organised a translator. Staff were able to use a translation application to help understand the patient's needs and concerns. Once they were able to communicate the patient was calm and they were able commence the journey. Staff gave us examples of times where they had supported patients outside of the scope of their role, for example they told us of an occasion where they had helped a patient to get some food shopping prior to transfer as they would have not had any at home. Staff told us they used a music application and asking the patient what type of music they liked, opened communication between the patient and staff and established a rapport and trust. The service had identified that this approach helped calm/ reassure patients.

We were unable to evidence observations of interactions between patients and staff as over the 2 days of the assessment the service did not have any transfers booked.

We spoke with 7 members of staff who worked at different levels in the service. Staff we spoke to told us they felt supported by the managers and leaders at the service and that there was a transparent culture. They said they felt able to discuss worries or concerns with managers and leaders and felt confident to speak up. Staff told us they were able to attend one to one clinical supervision every 3 months and attend team meetings.

There was no formal process in place for staff well-being within the service. There were social media groups organised for staff to use to chat and ‘de­brief’. The staff meeting minutes and governance minutes did not include agenda items which covered staff well-being. However, all staff underwent clinical supervision sessions which the service monitored completion rates. Governance meeting minutes from April 2024 showed supervision rates for registered staff had dropped from 100% to 50%.