Hales Group Limited - North East

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 requires improvement. At this inspection the rating has changed to good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 70 (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. People and relatives were positive about the caring nature of the organisation and staff. Their comments included, “The staff are very kind, and [Name] loves their visits and looks forward to seeing them” and “The carers are nice people and easy to get on with.”

Staff 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. A relative commented, “All expectations have been met and some exceeded and at the heart of all the care delivery is [Name]’s safety.” Staff had received training in equality and diversity to emphasise the importance of treating people as unique individuals with different and diverse needs. A relative told us, “Staff really take the time to communicate with [Name] and go above and beyond. I cannot thank the staff enough.” However, not all people and their relatives told us staff took time to speak with people during care visits and communicated effectively. Their comments included, “I am very frustrated as a relative and it seems beyond my power to change it as staff don’t listen”, “You can’t really get to know the carers very well and vice-versa, because their visits are too short. There is no real care or empathy, or attention to detail and lack of interest in my personal needs” and “My relative has a care plan, but the duties are not followed 100%.” We discussed this with the registered manager who told us it would be addressed.

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

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 mostly 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 staff member commented, “A calming approach is needed and gentle talking and movement to try to calm down and settle the person.”

 

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. A staff member commented, “All opinions and views are welcomed” and “There is flexibility with work.”