London Borough of Hackney, Housing with Care

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

People were supported by staff who were kind, compassionate, patient and enjoyed caring for people. People were treated as individuals and staff were given training to understand the importance of respecting people as individuals. People’s needs were tended to promptly and systems were in place to help monitor people in between their calls. Staff well being was regularly monitored and staff appreciated the open channels of communication with senior management.

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.

People told us staff were kind and respectful towards them. A person said, “The carers treat you well and are kind and considerate.” Relatives were consistent with their feedback about the kindness and politeness shown by staff. A relative said, “[Person] is doing absolutely brilliantly, I can’t even express how I feel about them [staff]. Whenever the staff come to see him they come and stretch their arms out to him. He is insistent that they [staff] are his family."

Staff spoke about the people they supported in a caring way. Showing compassion towards people they cared for was important and at the heart of what they did. A member of staff said, “You have to be caring to be a care staff, you have to put yourself in the position of person. If you have a caring heart you can do this job.” Another member of staff said, “We are caring for vulnerable people. The way we communicate, our tone. We need to sympathise, show love and compassion towards people.”

Staff were observed speaking to people in a kind and compassionate manner. Staff had time to speak to people and were seen asking questions about how people were and if they needed help with anything.

People told us staff knew them well and their preferences. They told us new staff needed time to get to know them, but information was within care plans. Relatives felt their family members were treated as individuals, a relative told us they could see people were being supported in a way to meet their individual needs. A relative said, “I like that they take [person] on day trips and he mixes with other residents and on his birthday, they will cook him Caribbean food.

Staff spoke about people as individuals and respected each person had their own preferences, values and beliefs. A member of staff said, “You get to know people, I know [person] likes water [personal care] to be warm, they like Johnson and Johnson's baby powder. It’s also in the care plan that [person] likes to select their own clothes to wear.” People were not discriminated and people’s backgrounds and cultures were celebrated.

Staff completed the following training to provide them with the skills to respect each person within the different schemes as individuals, equality and diversity, person centred care and privacy and dignity in care.

People told us they were independent were possible and those who needed full support received this from staff. A relative told us they had seen staff actively support their family member’s independence, they said, “They [staff] do encourage [person] independence, [person] goes for walks up and down the corridor to prevent blood clots”. Another relative told us that while their family member was fairly dependent on staff for mobility, they did try to encourage independence in other areas of care such as eating and drinking.

Staff supported people to be independent by not rushing them and positively encouraging them to choose things they enjoyed such as activities and enabling them during personal care to complete tasks they were able to. Staff told us they respected that people may change in what they were able to do and would support this to enable people to have control over their lives.

People’s daily records confirmed people were supported to be independent and had made their own choices. For example, choosing what they wanted to eat at mealtimes and giving consent to receive care.

People told us they felt staff attended to them promptly and when they pressed their pendant, they did not have to wait too long for care to arrive. Relatives were all consistent in saying staff responded to their family member. A relative said, “Their time keeping is very good, they have three set times and if anything, they pop in more.”

Staff told us they had enough time to meet people’s needs and there were enough staff to respond promptly to support people within the service. There were systems in place to support staff monitor people, this was through welfare checks where staff could check if people required any additional care outside of their normal calls. Staff knew people’s needs well and were able to tell us how they would identify if someone they supported was unwell or needed medical attention.

We observed staff were aware of people’s needs and were able to support people in a timely manner. Where people were at risk of falls they had equipment in place to alert staff in order to attend to people quickly, such as sensor mats and pendant alarms.

Staff told us they were supported by the management team and were complimentary of them all. They told us there were opportunities for them to talk leaders whenever they needed. A member of staff said, “I feel very supported by the registered managers. They have visited our scheme, introduced themselves and went round to greet people in their flats and spending time chatting to staff on a one-to-one basis.”

Training support sessions were in place for staff well-being and their mental health. This showed a willingness from the provider to protect staff wellbeing while at work. In addition to “check ins” the registered managers, scheme managers and team leaders told us they offered opportunities for staff to meet with them to talk in private, staff confirmed this.