Direct Link Care Ltd - Oxfordshire

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 80 (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 their relatives highlighted examples of how staff showed commitment to preserving people’s privacy and dignity. This included closing doors and curtains during personal care, communicating discreetly, and explaining each action before proceeding. Relatives of people with complex needs were keen to tell us how their family member’s dignity was maintained during the support provided.

People and their relatives told us, “The staff are exceptionally caring, kind and efficient. They have suggested changes we can make to help [name of person] be more comfortable. They treat [name of person] with dignity and humour”, “Staff are very mindful of privacy and dignity. They close doors and curtains, speak discreetly, and ensure personal care is provided respectfully at all times”, [staff] always close the bedroom curtains when they carry out [person’s] personal care”, “The Staff have always shown care and kindness to [person]. They[staff] treat [person] with utmost dignity. On every occasion that family members has been around staff, they have always been respectful and friendly.” Another relative told us, “[person] is treated with respect and dignity”.

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 and their relatives were positive about how staff supported them as individuals. Comments included, “The carers have helped my relative’s quality of life by keeping [person] at home”, “There are no real negative experiences from the company overall. I think the carers have a bubbly personality”, “My relative has hearing problems but the carers are very patient to aid [person’s] understanding”.

Staff told us they were supported to treat people as individuals. One member of staff told us “Care plans explicitly detail needs related to culture, religion, sexuality, and disability. For example, we support someone who observes Ramadan. The persons care plan outlines support for fasting and prayers. Another person is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. This person’s care plan ensures staff use correct pronouns and support them to access relevant community groups. Protected characteristics are actively considered to ensure care is respectful, dignified, and personalised, preventing discrimination.”
 

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 their relatives were positive about how staff supported them to regain, maintain and respect peoples’ independence. We received feedback which confirmed people were supported to retain a sense of autonomy, even when people had complex needs. For instance, relatives told us their family members with cognitive impairments or dementia, were supported to maintain established routines and consistency, which helped their family member feel secure, calm and in control.

One relative told us, “Staff encourage independence and choice wherever possible. they ask about preferences, routines, and daily wishes, allowing [person]to remain in control of their care.”

We received other examples from people and their relatives, these included “[staff] always take [person’s] wishes into consideration”, “Staff encourage healthy routines, including eating, drinking and personal hygiene. They [staff] offer support without being intrusive” and “They [staff] always ask what [person] wants to eat/drink and give [person] a choice at mealtimes. They [staff] always give him a choice where they [staff] can e.g. clothing, using the commode, personal care.”

Staff told us they encouraged people to be independent. Staff comments included, “Independence is actively encouraged by supporting service users to complete tasks they are capable of, with assistance provided only where required. For example, especially those clients who are on reablement we encourage them to be independent always start by understanding what the person can do, what they want to do, and where they need support” and “Independence looks different for everyone, so I follow their care plan while also paying attention to their preferences and strengths.”

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. The service actively monitored and responded to changes in people’s needs through assessments, observations, and surveys.

Systems were in place to ensure people had care calls when they needed support, for instance care calls for people with time specific medicines were monitored closely to ensure people received their medicine on time.

People gave us mixed feedback about how punctual their care calls were. People who were happy told us, “There is no problem with punctuality… on time about 90%”, “Time keeping is fine… you get to know what time to expect them” and “They are usually very punctual… good idea what time they will arrive.”

However, people who were less happy told us, “Punctuality is ok, but I’d like my calls earlier.” And “Timekeeping is not always brilliant… understand pressures.” We have provided feedback to the provider to ensure people receive timely care.
 

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff were unanimous in their feedback about their own wellbeing and how they were supported by the service. Staff told us they had support from the management team which helped them delivery care to people. Comments included, “The service shows they value me through good communication, regular supervision and support. I feel treated well at work, listened to by management, and supported to raise concerns or ask for help when needed”, “The service supports wellbeing by providing appropriate breaks, managing schedules to avoid fatigue, and offering flexibility when required. This enables staff to provide safe, high-quality care”, “My wellbeing is taken seriously” and “My breaks are adequate and rotation is also based on competency, and I contact management if needed as they have an open door policy.

Staff told us they felt valued and appreciated by the organisation, citing positive feedback from managers and people. Well-being was supported through flexible working, mental health adjustments, and recognition of hard work, fostering job satisfaction and motivation. One member of staff told us, “The service values staff through recognition and support, flexible working arrangements, access to counselling services, mental health resources, open communication, professional development and work-life balance, and yes, I feel well treated at work my well-being is prioritised.” Another staff member told us “There is an emphasis on wellbeing and staff are encouraged to maintain a healthy work life balance where possible. While there can be pressures at times the overall culture is positive and promotes respect.”