16 Westmoreland Road Also known as Quality of Life Homecare 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 staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity.

People and relatives described staff as kind, friendly and respectful. A person described their care worker as “lovely and wonderful.” Relatives said, “[The person]’s dignity is respected by the staff and they also listen to their concerns” and “The care staff are kind and respectful.” Managers and staff spoke about people in an understanding and respectful manner and used positive language when discussing people’s care. A care worker said, “We are going into their home, we should always smile, be pleasant, always check they are happy for me to do a task.” Another described how they worked to “build a bond” with people to treat them with empathy and respect. However, we saw an instance in people’s daily care records of language used that did not always promote treating people with dignity and respect. We raised this with the managers so they could review and address this.

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences.

The service had introduced care plans that reflected people’s wishes and preferences for their care, and their likes and dislikes. Plans also noted when person’s faith was important to them. Feedback from people and relatives showed staff treated and respected them as individuals. A person told us, “[The care worker] does everything for me, and they know my likes and dislikes.” A relative said, “The carer is aware of what is important and matters to [their family member].”Staff described working with and understanding people as individuals. Staff comments included, “I have time to build good relationships with my clients and colleagues”, “I like working with the elderly, I find them interesting and always have time for them” and “Each person has their own particularities. I familiarise myself with their care plan, history etc and if I have any questions, I ask the manager and they will get back to me.” We saw the provider recently supported a person who was war veteran to celebrate their 100th birthday and this featured in the local press.

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

Staff were aware of the importance of promoting people’s independence. They explained how people can direct their care to how they like it, such as choosing to be showered in a particular way or when they wanted. A care worker described how they ensured they involved a person who “prefers to do things together” in their care as much as possible to maintain their independence. Another staff member said, “I try to keep clients independent and improve so with one client we go for a walk.” Another person’s relative told us their family member, “goes out every day with their carer.” We saw new and recently updated care plans provided information about what was important to people in their daily living, including their religious and cultural needs. The provider worked with other services to help people maintain their independence. For example, liaising with healthcare professionals for a person to have a medicine dispensed in such a way that they could take it themselves when required. A person with a learning disability’s care plan promoted involving them in decisions about their daily living as much as possible to promote their independence.

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes.

Staff explained how they responded to people’s needs promptly. A staff member said, “I make it paramount to build a good bond with clients because that way I can identify straight away when something is wrong.” Relatives said staff adjusted to a person’s needs in the moment, such as when a person may be experiencing distress or discomfort. One relative commented, “The carer always adapts to [the person]” and another said, “The carer deals with [the person’s] down moods really well, has a calm nature and they know their job.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff.

Staff spoke positively about the registered manager and said they felt supported and valued in their roles. A staff member said, “[The managers] always ask how I am, do I need something, how are things going, they take an interest,” and “Morale is generally good amongst colleagues. We like talking to each other, there’s a good team spirit like a community.” The provider was in the process of conducting a survey at the time of our inspection to gather feedback from staff about the service and their support.The provider supported staff to complete further qualifications to develop their career in care. Staff confirmed this and one worker said, “I would like to progress and feel that this company would support me.”