Optimal Care Plus

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

We reviewed all 5 quality statements under this key question: kindness, compassion and dignity, treating people as individuals, independence, choice and control, responding to people’s immediate needs and workforce wellbeing and enablement. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and encouraged people to remain independent. People were supported by a caring staff group who respected their choices and preferences. Staff felt supported by their leaders and colleagues and felt able to contribute to decision making.

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.

People and their relatives felt they were treated with kindness, compassion and dignity in their day-to-day care and support. Comments included, “They [staff] are very caring and everything plus more, [person] is very happy and comfortable. They [staff] do more than expected if I am honest,” “Staff are always kind and treat [person] in a dignified manner,” and, “They [staff] do everything well for me, they are kind, they are fine and I’m quite happy with them.”

Staff knew and understood people. Staff we spoke with told us, “By following the standards of care we are always taught to follow we ensure client dignity and privacy is respected. Compassion, kindness and patience is shown to the service user when providing care and respect is given to the client and family members at all times,” “I made sure I respect the clients wishes and follow due process and procedure.” And, “I involve the person in their care, as much as possible. When assisting people on the toilet I afford them their privacy, I respect their preferences and their clothing choices.”

We requested information from partners however, we received no information in response to our request.

People’s individual needs were assessed, and the information used to shape their own personalised care plan. People’s individual needs and preferences were understood, and these were reflected in their care, treatment and support agreed by the person and/or their relative/representative.

Staff told us how they respected people’s individuality, wishes and preferences. Staff treated people as individuals taking into account their strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and protected characteristics. A member of staff told us, “No 2 people are the same, some might not like milk in their coffee, some do. We plan our support around their lifestyles, it is not the same care for everyone.”

People’s care plans reflected people’s individuality and were respectful of people’s personal, cultural, social and religious needs, ensuring they were understood and met.

Overall people we spoke with told us they were supported to have choice and control over their own care and were encouraged to make decisions about their care, treatment and wellbeing as much as possible.

Staff spoke positively about their roles and how they promoted people’s independence and choices. One member of staff told us, “I encourage independence at all times. Involving a person in their care for instance, when providing personal care to a person, I offer them the flannel to encourage them to wash parts of their body themselves, give them the towel to dry themselves. During mealtimes, instead of assisting them with all of their meal, I place the food in front of them and encourage them to hold the spoon or encourage them to hold their cup to drink by themselves. The goal is to get them involved in their care to help promote their independence unless they do not wish or are unable to do anything by themselves, then I will do it for my clients.”

The provider had effective systems in place to ensure people received care which promoted their independence, choice and control. People’s care plans reflected what they were capable of managing independently and what support they may require in other areas of their care. For example, ‘I can do my own personal and oral care independently. I prefer a quick visit to administer my medicines. I want to remain independent with every other activity with the exception of my medicines.’

People and/or their relatives told us they knew how to raise a concern or complaint. Not all were aware of the formal complaint’s procedure, however all said they felt confident they could call the office. Comments included, “I have a good relationship with the registered manager, they are very attentive,” and, “If we need to speak then I tend to ring up which seems to work quite well but I don’t know of any procedure to follow.”

The registered manager told us all feedback was acted on. Any low level concerns were addressed verbally during a follow up call. Any specific complaints would be dealt with following their complaints policy. The registered manager had a complaints log in place which detailed the complaint/outcome and any actions taken. After our assessment onsite visit the registered manager assured us copies of the complaint’s procedure would be sent out for openness and transparency.

Feedback from staff was positive regarding the support they received from the senior team and their colleagues. Comments included, “The registered manager in general is easy to speak to, always looking out for us, we get regular breaks and regular leave.” And, “We get regular breaks, time to rest and annual leave when we request it, we get it. We have a Mental Health support team and receive company benefits such as discount card schemes.”

The culture of the service promoted positive well-being through inclusivity, active listening, and open conversations. This enabled staff to do their job well. People were supported by staff who felt valued by their leaders and their colleagues. Staff received regular supervisions and had the opportunity to attend regular staff meetings.