Care at Home (Midlands) Ltd

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 provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People and relatives spoke highly of the staff’s kind, caring and compassionate approach. All respondents commented on the quality of care and compassion saying how staff made such a difference to the person they were caring for and that included family as well. Comments included, “The carers are kind and considerate. When I’ve met the three carers, they have been excellent. One situation when I was at [relations house]; the carer arrived and they helped me admirably, it was brilliant. They advised me another time to call 111 and stayed with me, they advised me what to do.”

People’s care plans and daily care records were written respectfully. Staff understood the importance of treating people with dignity and respect. Staff confirmed they had sufficient time to support people without rushing them, including time to build relationships with people and getting to know them. Comments included, “The ‘About Me’ document is really helpful to get to know a person. We always provide dignified care, respecting people’s privacy and being sensitive when providing personal care.”

We received feedback from an external professional who was complementary of the staff’s approach. Comments included, “Overall, it's been a pleasure working with the service over the years. From a nursing/ care point of view it is the sort of care agency I would like my family and relatives to be cared for. Because it is compassionate and a caring agency delivering tailored care to service users and their families.”

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. We identified care plans needed further improvement to ensure they were fully reflective of people’s individual care and support needs. However, from speaking with staff and receiving feedback from people and relatives, we concluded people were treated as individuals and the shortfalls were around record keeping.

Positive comments were received about how staff treated people as individuals. People told us staff knew them well and this was confirmed by relatives. A person said, “My carer always asks me, what I want to wear. I’m very pleased with them” A relative said, “They [staff] are lovely. A basic thing like getting [relations] clothes, they make sure they are matching. They are always nice and smart which is important to [relation].”

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 detailed their abilities and goals for independence, which helped staff to enable people rather than simply provide care. People and their relatives told us they had choice and control over their care. A relative said, “The carers have done more for [relation] than all the rehab visits they received previously, because they [staff] know what they can do and support their efforts.”

Staff confirmed how they supported, encouraged and promoted independence recognising the importance of this. A staff member said, “It’s important for a person’s physical and mental health and wellbeing to remain as independent as possible, for as long as possible.”

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 and their relatives were complimentary about the staff and management team in how they responded to any concerns. Examples included how staff had contacted emergency health services or family, and had stayed with the person until assistance came. Also in how the management had responded in changing a staff member when requested for example, the person having a staff gender preference. A person said, “As soon as I’ve contacted them [management team], they have acted in whatever way is suitable and immediately. I’ve had an excellent service.”

Staff told us the support from the office staff was accessible and responsive. If they needed support, they could access it, when it was needed.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff. Overall, staff were positive about working for the provider. When staff raised concerns about their working hours and travel time that had a negative impact on them, this was discussed with the management team. Action was already being taken to recruit more care staff to a specific care package. The provider confirmed travel time was included in care call scheduling but agreed to follow up with staff to further understand any issues.

The provider considered staff’s working time preferences and was in the process of rolling out to all staff a health cash plan. Staff also had access to an employee assistance programme.

Staff employed through the Sponsorship licence scheme (a licence approved and granted to a company to allow them to hire skilled workers from overseas by ‘sponsoring’ them to work in the UK) were supported through dedicated meetings and had a named member of the management team to contact regarding any concerns.

Staff meetings were held to reaffirm expectations of roles and responsibilities, identify areas for improvement, and thank and acknowledge staffs commitment.