Care at Home Gloucester

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

This is the first assessment for this registered service. This key question has been rated good.

This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 79 (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 was exceptional at making sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

Care plans were highly person centred, very detailed and comprehensive. Specific personal reactions and the individual’s way of doing things were recorded, along with the specific methods for staff to use to interact and engage with the person. Staff knew the people they supported well, and this was evident in the interactions we observed and the recordings in people’s support plans.

We observed people’s personal spaces were individualised. Most rooms were decorated to an exceptionally high personal standard, linking people’s favourite films or areas of interest very creatively.Their homes were very well presented, tidy, welcoming and relaxed.

Several people had received highly individualised care, which had increased their skills and promoted their independence to such a high level that they were able to move out of the supported service and into fully independent living. This was viewed by the whole staff team as a major achievement and an outstanding outcome for the people they had supported.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

Systems were in place to ensure people were supported by staff who knew them well and could adapt to people’s social and emotional needs.

Staffing levels were adjusted according to people’s needs and the level of support needed to engage in the activities of their choosing.

People and their relatives were involved in regular reviews, updates and multi-disciplinary meetings to ensure care remained effective and reflective of their needs. Where needed referrals were made for specialist advice and services.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

Information was available in various formats according to people’s need, for example large print, picture format, symbols and pictorial menus. This supported people to communicate and receive information in a way that was most suitable to their needs.

Relatives told us they were involved in reviews and had ongoing communications from staff about their family member. One relative told us, “The new manager is great and has acted on all the things that were an issue last year and has engaged with me. I’d like to make sure I say that the current manager, in a very short space of time, is doing a very good job.”

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

There were regular meetings with people to share information and seek their views, this also happened on a one-to-one basis and with people’s relatives to gather more personalised feedback. People were involved in the development of the regular service newsletter to relay information and plan future events.

A relative told us, “They ask [my relative] things and [they] understand what they’re saying not like the other place where [my relative] couldn’t communicate. The new manager is great and has acted on all the things that were an issue last year and has engaged with me.”

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

People’s homes and gardens were designed and arranged around their personal needs and wishes.People were able to access outside spaces independently or with support.

People had support to attend health appointments. Staff were aware of the barriers people with a learning disability and autistic people faced and tried to remove or mitigate these by supporting them to experience their lives to the full.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Staff had received equality and diversity training to give them a clearer understanding of the context in which they worked. There was an equality and diversity policy to provide further guidance, including reference to protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010.

Managers told us several people had been able to increase their independence to leave the high level of support in the service and move into more independent living. One person told us,“[They had] enjoyed living at the service and was in the process, with support from staff, of moving into an independent living service, due to no longer needing high levels of support. [I am]planning to relocate back to [home area] to be closer to family and friends.”

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

Care plans reflected people and their families wisheswhen they approached the end of their life.