Include 'In' Autism

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 service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last inspection we rated this key question good. At this inspection the rating for this key question 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.

Staff at the service treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. Relatives were positive about the caring nature of the organisation and staff. Their comments included, “I can only praise the staff, I can't believe how good they are” and “Staff seem to love being with [Name]."

Staff treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. A staff member told us, “The role is very rewarding, being part of an individual’s journey and being able to help them achieve the best for themselves.” They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. A relative commented, “Staff are marvellous with [Name]. They stick to the same routine each week, which [Name] needs, they love the staff.” Staff had received training in equality and diversity to emphasise the importance of treating people as unique individuals with different and diverse needs.

Staff were exceptional at promoting people’s independence, whatever the level of need. A staff member commented, “With this job I am able to meet different young people with different needs, and I am happy supporting them to achieve their goals.” There were examples of the positive impact to people where they had been supported to enjoy a more independent quality of life. Examples included a person who had experienced several previous hospital admissions, was helped to settle back into the community, they engaged successfully in a relationship and moved to independent living without further need for care and support. For another person the staff team assisted the person and their relative during a crisis. They provided a core staff team which helped to build trust and provide reassurance to the person. Meaningful activities were provided which helped the person to engage positively and maintain a sense of routine and safely access the community. The person has now successfully relocated and with staff support is enjoying maintaining time with their family. Staff members’ comments included, “We encourage choice and support people to do tasks themselves where possible, and promote life skills” and “I have helped in improving a young person’s independence in terms of dressing and taking positive risk in engaging with the community.” People’s care plans provided guidance. Information was available that detailed the support staff needed to provide and what the person could do themselves to help complete the task and maintain their independence. A relative commented, “Our family are really grateful to have this service, it gives[Name] independence, they get so much out of it.” People were supported with varied activities and outings of interest to them. Some relatives’ comments included“[Name] loves going on the metro with staff and enjoys bowling and basketball” and“[Name] has a lovely time with staff, they take [Name] out in [Name]’s car for drives.”

Staff 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 were supported by staff who were familiar to them. This enabled staff to anticipate and meet people’s needs quickly and in ways that reduced and mitigated people’s discomfort and distress. A relative commented, “Staff are pretty good at picking up the signs, if [Name] is about to be upset. They will divert [Name]’s attention elsewhere.” 
 

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff provided positive feedback about their experience of working at the service. Staff told us they were confident to speak with staff and the leadership team about things which mattered to them and impacted on their health and wellbeing. A staff member commented, “Management are always there to listen.”