Head Office

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 service met people’s needs.

This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated outstanding. This meant services were tailored to meet the needs of individuals and delivered to ensure flexibility, choice and continuity of care.

This service scored 89 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service 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 and assessments of people’s needs were person-centred. The management team put people at the heart of the service and people’s goals, dreams and aspirations drove the service. Feedback from family members, people’s representatives and professionals confirmed care was person-centred and unique to each person and how the service was exceptional in the way they tailored people’s support. A family member told us, “[Person] is supported to follow [their] interests and to maintain a family life. [They] take a taxi to visit their [family member] and [they] have been on family trips to Blackpool. [They] go to church every Sunday on their own using a taxi or a bus.” Another person’s representative said, “[The person] is living the life they have never had. [Person] has a bucket list and is working towards it. They wanted to go to Disneyland and now they have been.”

The service had an exceptional understanding of the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity. People had consistent staff teams who knew and supported them. Staff know people and work with them to continuously improve the care and support provided. The provider has good links with community health and social care services which enabled discussions and decisions with professionals to ensure care and support was joined up to support better outcomes for people, for example a person’s staff support team identified the need for additional support for longer activities outside of their house. The provider funded and trialled 2:1 staffing at their own expense. It was evidenced that the person’s quality of life improved. They were able to travel to different cities and buy clothes and shoes that they had struggled to purchase online. Prior to this specific intervention the person spent a lot of time inside watching television but after the additional support was put in place by the service, they were no longer restricted as to how long they could be out and about. The person benefitted from the additional stimulation and there was a positive impact on their mental health and well-being. A family member of another person told us how their relative was supported to follow her interests and maintain a family life and contact with her community, "Once a year we have a carnival, [the staff] support [person] to come along.”

The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. ‘Easy read’ documents enabled people to access information about the service and understand their involvement in developing their own care and support plans. People were actively involved in assessing their own needs, care planning, recruitment of staff and setting goals, dreams and aspirations.

The service was exceptional at enabling people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. They always involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result. The service had a culture of open and honest discussions and any issues were dealt with immediately. Complaints were seen as learning opportunities and the provider reflected on how the service could improve. The service listened to people about their needs, goals and dreams and involved them in agreeing how they could be achieved. People were involved in conversations about their care and support and their views and feedback were captured in easy to read and understand formats. The service used advocates and independent representatives to ensure people were supported to give honest feedback in their own words. The managed team had ‘translated’ sensitive legal information into easier to read phrases and sentences for a person so they were able to understand what they needed to do to continue to meet agreed outcomes. This resulted in the person meeting their legal requirements of their licence agreement, maintaining their tenancy agreement and being able to travel abroad to fulfil a lifelong dream.

The service made sure people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. The provider worked with people to ensure key information about their care and support was communicated appropriately using easy read formats. This promoted positive outcomes for people and enabled them to achievement their personal goals and targets. The provider had plans in place to ensure people had appropriate support in place to reduce their anxiety in relation to attending clinical appointments. As a result, people attended their appointments and received clinical care and support.

Staff and leaders were innovative in how they listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes. Staff and leaders actively used this information to provide exceptionally tailored care, support and treatment in response to this. The service had been developed and designed to ensure people who received support had access to services which matched their individual care needs. One person's representative told us, "[Person] is living the life they've never had. [Person] has a bucket list and they are working towards completing it. They wanted to [holiday destination abroad] and now they've been.” The service and staff team worked with the person to apply for a passport and start a savings plan for their holiday abroad.

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. People were supported to make decisions about their end of life care and support including funeral planning. This was done in a sensitive manner and people made clear decisions about their funeral hymns and the food to be provided at the wake which would be their favourite food and drink.