New Leaf Care Limited

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.

People told us staff respected their privacy by closing doors and curtains and placing towels over them when giving personal care. Due to the continuity of staff, people said they knew the staff and the staff knew them, and their likes and dislikes; they told us staff took the time to talk to people and kept family informed if they had any concerns.

People and relatives described staff as being kind, caring and friendly. A relative told us, “The staff are very friendly. They [staff] understand [person’s] level of conversation as it’s hard to communicate with [person]. They work really hard to communicate with [person]; they have background knowledge, so they understand them.” A person said, “The staff are friendly, and I feel comfortable with them.”

A staff member told us, “It’s about ensuring people are comfortable in their own homes and comfortable with staff who they are confident in, to help them to stay independent and stay at home. It takes a bit longer to get to know a person who is living with dementia, so we take more time.”

Information about people was treated confidentially and only shared with people’s consent. The registered manager regularly observed staff practice to ensure interactions between staff and people were not simply task focussed.

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.

Staff knew about people’s individual needs and treated people with dignity and respect. A person told us, “The staff are friendly, caring and polite.” A relative said, “The staff are very caring. They make sure [person] has got everything they need, and they [staff] have a laugh and a joke with them.” People’s daily records contained a very good level of detail regarding the care and support provided at each staff visit and demonstrated staff understood people’s wishes and preferences, personal histories and backgrounds. People’s capacity to consent to care was identified during the initial assessment process.

People had individual care plans, which contained a range of personalised information, including information about people as individuals and how they wanted to be supported; this helped to ensure people’s dignity was maintained and they felt listened to and respected by staff. A person told us, “I am listened to, and they [staff] provide the care I want.”

Staff considered and supported people’s individual needs and preferences. For example, one person was assisted to access community activities during the week and at weekend, and to also access a volunteering opportunity.

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 to maintain their independence and to be as independent as possible. Staff encouraged people to do as much as they could for themselves, encouraging their independence. For example, staff had worked in partnership with an occupational therapist (OT) to encourage mobility for one person, and following the OT assessment the person was now able to stand, with updated instruction for staff to support the person to start using their mobility aid and walk short distances with staff guiding them.

People were supported to have choice and control over their own care and to make decisions about their care, treatment and wellbeing and the provider involved people’s relatives where appropriate. A health care professional told us, “[Registered manager name] understands how important family and representatives are when working with someone who does not have capacity; family is this individual’s biggest advocate and [registered manager name] and New Leaf Care have always listened to families’ ideas and suggestions which has allowed trust to build.”

Risks were well managed, and people were involved in developing risk management plans. Risk management plans had possible negative outcomes identified and the associated risk reduction measures included a good level of detail for staff to follow, to reduce each risk.

Policies and procedures were in place to support people’s independence, choice and control.

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.

Communication guidance was in place, to ensure staff were able to communicate effectively and understand people’s needs. Each person had communication guidelines and instruction for staff on how best to communicate with them. People and relatives felt their needs views and wishes were listened to. One relative told us, “They [staff] do what [person] asks, for example [person] is in bed, and they always ask how [person] wants the bed positioned.” A person said, “They [staff] know me. I can tell them what I want but I try to be independent. They chat to me while doing their job.”

Staff escalated people’s health concerns to health agencies in a timely way. Feedback from people indicated they were satisfied with the care provided. Daily care notes completed by staff at each visit were detailed and showed appropriate action was taken when needed.

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

The provider operated an employee assistance programme. This confidential service provided advice and guidance with any personal or professional problems which may affect their overall wellbeing. Support provided included counselling, legal support, bereavement support, practical medical advice and self-help support. Manager consultancy and support was also available. Staff were subject to supportive return to work meetings, following any period of sickness, during which any provider support required was discussed, and advice given to reduce the chance of repeat sickness.

The provider used a digital staff rota system, which meant staff were easily changeable to accommodate availability, sickness, or any other contingencies. The system allowed for staff work patterns preferences and availability to be recorded; staff could switch on their availability in the App on their phones.

Any overseas staff recruited via the sponsorship scheme were supported to settle and integrate with other team members and also supported to ensure they had enough resources to organise themselves outside of work, with help provided to acquire accommodation and access to a GP.

New staff were teamed up with a ‘buddy’ team colleague for mentoring and coaching and to help them connect on a more personal level with other staff members. This inclusion had also resulted in increased cultural awareness among people being supported; most of these were open to being supported by staff from other cultures and the provider had received positive feedback from people, who identified learning more about different staff and the diversity and authenticity they brought to the job.