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London Care (Westminster)

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Stag House, 42 Westbourne Park Road, London, W2 5PH (020) 7723 5425

Provided and run by:
London Care Limited

Important: This service was previously registered at a different address - see old profile

Report from 19 June 2024 assessment

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Caring

Good

Updated 23 December 2024

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. At our last inspection we rated this key question good. At this inspection the rating has remained good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care. People were involved in planning the care and support they received. Staff encouraged people to maintain their independence and people were supported to make their own choices and decisions. People had control over their lives, including their care and support. The service supported people to understand their rights by using different languages and individual communication techniques. The provider had excellent systems and processes in place to make sure staff’s health, safety and wellbeing was consistently promoted. The management team was well structured and they made sure staff felt valued and included in all aspects of the service. We did not assess all the quality statements within this key question, as we did not identify concerns relating to those areas which we judged as being met at our last inspection.

This service scored 80 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Kindness, compassion and dignity

Score: 3

We did not look at Kindness, compassion and dignity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

Treating people as individuals

Score: 3

We did not look at Treating people as individuals during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

Independence, choice and control

Score: 3

People using the service and their representatives consistently told us that the care staff, and the support they received, helped them to maintain their independence. One person told us, “[Care staff] helps me with walking and shopping. They give me the same people every week.” Another person said, “[Care staff] take me to the pharmacy to pick up some things; it’s the walk for me.” A person’s representative confirmed that care staff promoted people’s independence. This person explained, “Yes. Most definitely. [Name] can do a few things for themselves, though not much.” A person’s relative said, “[Relative] expressed a wish to have a life similar to what they had before getting old. [Relative] has lived in the same flat for 50 years and now they have a group of people helping them to stay in the home they’ve lived in almost all their life. [Relative] has a routine and a range of things they do every day. The carers try to work with [relative] and maintain their routine and independence with daily activities.’’

The staff and management team understood the importance of supporting people to retain their independence and involving them in decision-making. They also helped people to avoid social isolation by signposting them to activities and organisations within the local community, in order to maintain and promote relationships and networks. Staff told us it was helpful to work in geographical ‘patches’ and, where possible, in areas where they had local knowledge of community resources. Staff consistently explained how they supported people to maintain their independence when meeting their care needs. They made comments such as, “If [person] has mobility, I just encourage them to lift their legs or hold my hands. I tell them they are doing well.” “I give them choices and options for lunch. I respect their decisions and try and help them.” “I prompt them when dressing and support them if they need help. If they are able to walk, I stay behind them and be ready to hold them to stop them falling.” “Encourage them that they can do it by themselves.” And, “If I want to take [person] out and they want to wear light clothes, I can suggest a better option of clothing, but I give [person] choice to decide what they want to wear.”

The service had effective care planning systems and processes in place, which helped enable people to make choices and decisions and have control over their lives, including their care and support. The service supported people to understand their rights by using different languages and individual communication techniques whenever needed. Staff ensured people were able to access and maintain important relationships and networks, such as friends and family, as well as the wider community. We noted the service also supported people to obtain and use various equipment that could also help enhance people’s independence.

Responding to people’s immediate needs

Score: 3

We did not look at Responding to people’s immediate needs during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Score: 4

The staff we spoke with or received feedback from, spoke very highly of the service. Staff told us they felt valued and said the management team genuinely cared about their personal wellbeing, as well as their professional development. Staff consistently told us they had regular opportunities to provide feedback, raise concerns and suggest ways to improve the service. Staff told us they enjoyed working for the company and, because they were happy and well supported, they were confident and competent in providing a good quality service for the people they in turn supported. One member of staff told us, “They [management] are professional and helpful. They helped me to enrol for my apprenticeship and they are supporting me. I was struggling with parenting and schooling. My co-ordinator and manager worked closely with me and made the job flexible. I came out with A*. I showed them the success and they celebrated it. They encouraged me that I can do it and that was very good.” Another member of staff said, “I feel very supported in my job, as my team always answer any questions I may have and support me in my role. One of the best things about working at London care is they ensure their staff are always happy and comfortable with their role and are always checking to see if they are ok.” A further comment from a member of staff was, “Managers are nice, polite and helpful. They always notice us and offer us tea or coffee. We can have breaks and can sit in the branch to have a cup of tea, especially when it is raining or cold.” One member of staff was very excited about an upcoming social event. They told us, “I think they [the service] are the best in Westminster. The branch is organising a social event and I feel excited. Our manager is good and wants us to join them for nice food with them and staff. I think this is a great idea, because there are some colleagues I don’t see. I want to see them and have some food, tea and dance. I am very happy!”

The provider had excellent systems and processes in place to make sure staff’s health, safety and wellbeing was consistently promoted. The management team was well structured and they followed effective processes to make sure staff felt valued and included in all aspects of the service. For example, processes ensured that everyone with line management responsibility maintained regular contact with their staff, both out in the field and within the office. There were processes for checking and supporting staff’s emotional health and wellbeing, as well as their competency. Feedback from staff confirmed that the processes were effective and made them feel truly valued, confident and competent. The systems for staff support, supervisions and appraisals helped identify if staff needed additional support or training in any area. The provider’s ethos, processes and systems also ensured that adjustments were made, when needed, to enable staff enhance their professional development. There were systems in place to make sure communication was consistently 2-way with staff. This meant staff always had the opportunity of feeding into meetings and getting updates. On the occasions staff were not able to attend face-to-face meetings, their feedback confirmed that there were processes that helped make sure they were kept informed. Staff’s opinions and feedback were consistently welcomed and we saw evidence that demonstrated how staff were supported positively and compassionately if they were struggling at work. We were fully assured that the culture within the service normalised the wellbeing of staff through inclusivity, active listening and open conversations. This helped enable staff to do their jobs well and to be well.