Avant (Sutton)

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• 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. This is the first assessment for this service since their registration in June 2024. This key question has been rated 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 provider always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity.

People were treated with kindness by staff that respected their privacy and dignity. One person told us, “They make me really happy. They make me smile and we have a laugh. They’re very nice people and come from different countries. They always talk to me, are cheerful and explain things. Really caring and patient.” A relative said, “They’re kind and very helpful. Very polite and gentle. And, very good to me too.” Managers undertook regular spot checks on staff and telephone monitoring calls to people to seek assurances that people were treated with kindness and compassion by staff at all times.

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

The provider had arrangements in place to ensure people’s individual needs were obtained, understood and met when providing care and support to them. A staff member told us, “I make sure I understand people’s care needs by reading carefully the care needs that are provided in the care package of the individual client, and I will ensure I support an individual according to what is stated in their care requirements.” Managers undertook regular assessments, monitoring and reviews of people’s care and support needs, to make sure care plans reflected people’s individual needs and preferences. People’s care plans were current and instructed staff how people’s individual needs and preferences should be met when providing people with care and support.

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

People had choice and control over how their care and support was provided. One person told us, “I do have control and choice. I never want to be left alone on the stairs and to get my time dependent medication. And for them not to come after 7.00pm as I am in bed. And, to clean as I want. That is all done.” Another person said, “Yes, I can tell them if I don’t want something. They appear to listen and respect my wishes.” A relative told us, “I think [family member] gets on with them. If she specifically wants a shower or choice of clothes, then she tells them and they listen to her. If she wants to lie in bed then they react accordingly.” People’s care records informed staff, when providing care and support, to seek people’s consent, offer choice, and support people to do as much as they could and wanted to do for themselves. A staff member said, “Promoting choice and control is essential, and I support individuals in making decisions about their daily routines, such as meals, clothing, and personal care preferences.” People’s records were reviewed regularly by managers which helped to make sure these remained up to date and current about people’s choices for their care and support needs.

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.

People’s feedback indicated the provider responded in an appropriate way to address their concerns. People told us the issues they had previously experienced around the timeliness of care calls had impacted them and resulted, in some instances, people not getting their medicines on time or having to cancel planned healthcare appointments. When people had raised their concerns with managers, they had taken immediate action to address this. People were now more satisfied with the timeliness of care calls.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff were well supported by managers. A staff member told us, “I feel very supported by my managers because they always communicate with me to make sure I am okay and everything is being done right.” Another staff member said, “The managers here are knowledgeable and always willing to help. They create a positive work environment and provide clear guidance whenever needed (and) assistance if you have doubt and difficulties.” Staff had access to systems to support their wellbeing. Staff were signposted to the employee assistance programme which they could contact at any time for confidential advice about personal or work issues that may be impacting their work performance and wellbeing. Managers used supervision, to identify and deliver the support staff needed to help them undertake their roles effectively. Senior managers at provider level undertook a wellbeing check on all staff twice a year to make sure staff were being well supported in their roles.