Apollo Care Blackpool

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 service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. This was the first inspection for this service. This key question has been rated outstanding. This meant people were truly respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service.

This service scored 90 (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 treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Without exception, relatives and people who used the service told us how exceptionally kind and caring the staff were. Relatives spoke to us and gave very specific examples of how they felt the service had gone above and beyond their everyday role to ensure their family member was well treated and cared for. Comments included; “They just don’t compare” “What can I say, lovely, lovely people, great care and support” “From all the care staff even right down to the office staff. Nothing is too much trouble. The small things they do for [person] make a massive difference.” And, “They are fantastic, they leave the house spotless.” A relative told us how the care staff interact kindly with their relative and have a ‘amazing’ relationship with them. They said, “They are family. I do feel they care so much.”

An example was shared with us by a stakeholder of how Apollo Care Blackpool was able to step in last minute and provide support at short notice to support a person. They told us how the support was a ‘flexible and creative use of [funding options]’

The stakeholder also said how this had positively impacted both the person and their family members due to feeling supported by a ‘dedicated agency’ who went out of their way to act quickly, learn about the person, and provide skilled staff. The person told us, “The support has made a massive difference to me.”

The provider treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The service took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

There was a real sense of respect, value and trust amongst Apollo Care Blackpool and the people they supported. The provider went above and beyond to ensure person centred values were communicated to staff from day 1, when they took part in bespoke training around person centred care and support and how they could make a difference to people’s lives. For example, we saw how 1 person was supported intensively by staff to re-learn new skills following an admission from a care home back to their own home. The staff worked with the person exceptionally hard and with compassion to ensure small tasks such as choosing their own clothes and completing some aspects own personal care were promoted and encouraged as much as possible. We saw in care notes, how staff verbally prompted and motivated this person when they were having ‘off’ days. Their relative told us this had a massive positive impact on them, as they always wanted to remain in their own family home as long as possible. They said, “Apollo have really helped me through this and have come up something so bespoke it just had to be agreed. It works amazingly well.”

There were other examples of where staff had been particularly highly skill matched to people to ensure they would have things to talk about and create a sense of familiarity. Recent written feedback from an external stakeholder was shared with us by the registered manager regarding Apollo Care Blackpool. The stakeholder had written about the service and staff, ‘True compassion, understanding and integrity in your work.’ The stakeholder further fed back around the work and dedication of the staff with regards to integrating the person into the community.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People’s care plans were written using respectful language and focused on tasks they could complete independently. There were verbal prompts recorded for people around tasks they chose to remain independent with.

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. For example, a relative told us they always felt safe knowing staff were with their family member. They said, “I know they will never leave if they feel [person] is having a bad day. They will call me to let me know and offer to stay longer if need be.”

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

All staff told us they loved their role with Apollo. One staff member told us, “We adopt a patient centred approach, where a client’s individual needs are addressed. Two clients with the same condition, do not receive the same care, it's all individual.” Staff told us they felt valued and supported. Comments included, “They treat me well and I feel a member of the team. I have no reason to be wishing to move on from my current position. I feel valued.” Another staff member said, “They have looked after me really well. They have promoted my role, so I have a dual role which fits in around my family commitments. This has made a huge positive impact on my life.” A staff member also said, “I’ve enjoyed my time there so far and they’ve helped me tremendously with being so open and flexible.” Another staff member said, “I love the sense of achievement when helping make a difference in people's lives, by supporting them in their day to day living and assisting to ensure they remain independent and happy in their own homes.”

Staff achievements were celebrated both at an organisational level through the use of reward and recognition programmes and socially, using real staff experiences to promote Apollo Care Blackpool in the local area to ensure high local recruitment levels.

Staff we spoke with genuinely cared about the people they supported, and this came across, further corroborating how Apollo Care Blackpool strive to ensure their personal values are delivered through their staff teams.