SCC Agency Ltd (trading as South Coast 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

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 85 (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.

Everyone we spoke to was extremely positive about the kindness of staff at the service and the difference this made to people’s lives. People said, “They talk and you can have a laugh and a joke, it’s someone to talk to, they listen to me. They say ‘good morning’, ‘have you had a good night’, ‘what did you do yesterday’, they are interested in you.” Staff excelled at making people feel comfortable with those that supported them and reduced people’s barriers to good care through their kind approach. One person told us, “They are like friends, we chat. When I first had to have a carer, I didn’t like it, but it was like having a chat, they have never made me feel self-conscious. If I’ve got any concerns, I can talk to them.”

Staff told us they enjoyed their work and were exceptionally happy in their roles, one staff member said, “We mostly support the same people. We get to know the families too, it’s not rushed like in a care home. You have time.”

The provider had robust ways they monitored staff interactions with people to ensure they received excellent care, they said, “We have regular client reviews where we will ask them [about staff interactions]. We have spot checks and supervisions for staff, the electronic care system has profanity filters that alert us if a carer adds a note using profanities even if recording an incident. There are supervised spot checks through the year.”

The management team supported staff to create a kind and caring culture that focused entirely on people using the service. The manager told us, “We tell carers to treat people like their own family. We really promote person centred care. It’s much more than just a carer doing tasks. The reviews show us the care staff are really caring.”

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 told us they carried out a thorough assessment of people’s needs before they took on a package of care. The provider said, “A supervisor goes to the person’s home and talks to the person, with family if required, this is repeated quarterly.”

Care plans included information about the person as well as tasks which needed completing, the manager said, “There is an ‘about me’ form that is filled in where clients give background information, and how they want their care. Staff can see that on the app.” The manager was keen to be inclusive and said, “We use correct terminology and ask about peoples’ pronouns. We ask about partners, and next of kin, we ask "who is important to you?".

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 control over the support that was provided by care staff. People understood their rights. For example, when asked about whether they could choose male or female staff a person told us, “I was asked when I first came to the service. I have female carers since I had a mastectomy, they respect that.”

The manager told us they ensured people were able to make choices about their care, for example they told us, “We address communication at assessment. We look into do people need an advocate?, do they need an interpreter ?.”

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.

The care staff and the senior team were accessible and happy to modify care when people wanted this. People told us, “They always listen and respond straight away, it’s very friendly. I wasn’t coping very well; I couldn’t get him up in the mornings. I got hold of them and they got back to me and said ‘would it be helpful for another visit at bedtime?’ and they extended the morning visit, it made a difference,” and, “Occasionally I have to ring up and ask if they can come earlier if I have an appointment, they try and satisfy you with that.”

During our visit we heard staff in the office respond to telephone calls asking for changes, we heard staff being polite, friendly and professional.

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.

Staff we spoke to were happy and confident in their roles and felt the provider enabled them to provide people with the best care possible. They told us they were well trained and described the management team as very supportive and flexible. Staff told us there were activities organised for staff by the management which brought the team together, such as barbecues. Training was organised in a flexible way and provided on more than one day so all staff could attend.

The provider excelled at ensuring new staff were set up to provide good care and had all the support they needed. A staff member said, “When I started here, even though I was trained and from another agency, I still got the full training, and we can have up to five shadow shifts, which I took advantage of, to get to know people. The support is good. The support is there [from the management] for staff if they are ill or need time off.” Another staff member said, “The office staff are very supportive. This company is so accommodating.”

The provider’s focus on staff wellbeing and enablement had a direct impact on people and the support they received from staff. People noticed how happy staff were and said they were not rushed. A person told us, “They give me peace of mind and support. They are like friends, like part of your family. You get to know them.” And another person said, “They cheer me up and help me. They give me encouragement to try different things.”

The provider understood the wider picture of the social care landscape and worked with their staff to arrange community events to raise awareness of key issues. The provider told us, “We had a carers coffee morning, we had tombola. We do charity work, for example we did a dementia day, with updates and to raise awareness. We have done charity walks and we might do more in the summer."