Futures

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.

We observed people being supported with kindness and empathy. Emotional support was recognised as being equally as important as the physical support staff provided. People were supported with one-to-one care for much of the time and staff demonstrated they knew each person well, noticing small movements and changes in body language or facial expressions to indicate needs and mood. During our time at Futures all staff were welcoming and happy to explain the support they offered to people, talking with respect and admiration for the way people coped with the daily challenges they experienced.

Different healthcare professionals were made welcome and one professional told us, “I can’t fault the staff at Chailey, always accommodating from sign in to leaving.” During our first visit we found that there was a camera on in the bungalow’s communal lounge when a person was on bed rest. We were told people had one to one support and this maintained oversight when they were resting, but the camera was positioned for all to see. If relatives were visiting others, then there would be no privacy. This was discussed with the registered manager and team leader, and on our second visit we noticed the camera in the lounge was switched off and handheld devices were in use instead. Staff were aware of privacy needs and told us, “We keep cameras off when personal care is being done and make sure that the curtains are shut.”

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.

Each bungalow had a central computer so staff could access people’s documents, and daily notes were recorded on shift sheets and at handover, communicating any specific events or changes to routine. People’s preferences were detailed in various documents, including religious and cultural needs. There was opportunity provided for listening to worship music and people were offered to attend church. People watched a livestream of a church service on Sundays and accessed a bible reading app when they wished to. Different cultures were respected and celebrated within the activities and food choices offered. People’s individual interests and hobbies were encouraged, for example we saw staff supporting someone to be involved in cooking and kitchen activities. A family member told us, “They think about the individual needs.” When accessing the community people had individual risk measures in place, for example a disability distress assessment tool (DISDAT) which was a distress passport detailing a person’s presentation when content or distressed, and how best to respond and support them.

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 supported and encouraged to have control and be as independent as possible. Due to complexity of needs many people used different supporting equipment to aid their lifestyle. We saw one person using a touch pad. From this they could independently choose musicians and individual songs or TV programmes or films. They wore headphones and were humming to various tunes. We saw people being supported to use digital communication systems such as tablets so they could receive regular video calls from families or watch videos. One person’s relative read them part of a book each evening over video call, others listened too if they wished. Activity sessions were not compulsory, and staff told us, “Activities are based on people’s choices,” and “If someone didn’t want to go to the gym, they would ring up to cancel and then help to find an alternative.” A couple of people liked staying up late at night and staff supported this. They understood how people would communicate when they wished to go to bed. We observed staff supporting one person watching TV in an area behind a small screen to allow them time and space on their own which they preferred. This enabled them to be supported with their choices whilst remaining in the same room as others and not being isolated in their own bedroom. Documentation showed photos with descriptions of individual’s goals and achievements, for example, performance targets in gym work.

We saw that people’s care plans included advice on how to support people to maintain independence. For example, one person’s care plan advised staff to encourage the person to move themselves during some activities.

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.

Staff were good at picking up cues from people and responded to their needs when they noticed someone wanted or needed support. People had differing ways to express pain or discomfort and staff were aware of individuals preferred communication methods. We observed people being supported to change position to keep them comfortable. A person who was becoming agitated and distressed was calmed by staff using gentle physical contact and reassuring words and touch. This person was soothed by their approach and staff were confident when supporting them, showing the skills they had in managing people with complex needs. Staff had direct access to NHS nurses for clinical support and advice should there be any fluctuation in someone’s medical needs and we saw evidence of communication between teams providing quick responses to immediate changes in presentation.

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

There were different seniority levels at Chailey Heritage Foundation and various teams of staff that worked collaboratively through the Foundation and supported each other. Staff at Futures had regular supervision that was provided by the team managers. One staff told us, “I had supervision two weeks ago by the team manager, 100% supported.” Staff found the registered manager approachable and told us, “I feel supported by the registered manager, she is based on the site so I can go to her any point.” One staff told us that the first time they gave emergency rescue medicines the senior and an NHS nurse was present, and they observed and talked them through the process. We observed the staff team interacting well with each other and they appeared relaxed and content in the workplace. Staff confirmed they had a wide range of training to ensure they were fully equipped to understand and support people’s individual needs.