Kitec Supported Living

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

People were supported to have choice and control about their support and to make decisions about how their care was provided. Staff treated people with kindness and compassion; their privacy was respected, and their independence was promoted. The support and wellbeing of staff was promoted to enable them to always deliver person centered 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.

People and relatives told us the support and treatment provided by Kitec Healthcare Services fully met their needs and that staff were kind and caring. One person said, “The staff are really brilliant, and I want to say thank you.” Another person commented, “It’s been a learning journey both for me and my carers. They understand my mental health and I don’t know what I would have done without them. It’s because of their support that I am able to attend university. I have a lot to thank them for.” A relative told us, “They are caring, very caring. I hope nothing changes because this is the best it's ever been, and I finally have peace of mind.”

Staff we spoke with were fully aware of the core values of the service and were passionate about their jobs. One staff member commented, “I support clients in a kind and compassionate way by actively listening to their needs and providing for their needs within the best of my ability.” Staff told us about listening to people and treating people with kindness, compassion, empathy, respect and dignity. One member of staff said, “I ensure client’s privacy and dignity is maintained by first and foremost treating them with respect, I listen actively to them, and I am not dismissive. I also only discuss their affairs with authorised personnel and on a need-to-know basis with their consent where applicable.” Dignity champions were in place who promoted and monitored dignity in care practices. Equality and Diversity training was completed by all staff, fostering a culture of equality.

Health and social care professionals praised the service and the staff for providing kind and compassionate care with support specific to people’s needs.

People told us that staff treated them as individuals and said their care had been discussed with them and delivered in line with their preferences. One person said, “The staff do treat me as an individual and a person in my own right. They respect my lifestyle and always come up with ideas to make my life better. If I decide I don’t want to do something the staff respect my decisions.”

Staff fully understood the importance of promoting equality and diversity. Care plans contained information about people's diverse needs and their chosen lifestyles. One member of staff told us, “I support every one by talking to them, not at them, and I also listen to what they have to share with a compassionate ear whilst respecting their choices, opinions and beliefs. I have also had training in communication and how to use active listening skills when communicating with people.”

Detailed care plans were focused solely on the individual with person centred care being the main emphasis, ensuring that people’s care was personalised, and people were treated as individuals. Topics of interests and people’s goals and aspirations were a big part of the initial assessment and re-assessment process which were discussed face to face with people. Information was sought in relation to people’s preferred lifestyles, their cultural and unique backgrounds, the people that were important to them and the different hobbies and interests they enjoyed. Information was also sought about people’s preferred routines and the ways in which their care would fit into their lives. This meant people’s care was delivered in a holistic and person centred way.

We did not look at Independence, choice and control during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

People and relatives told us the staff were very knowledgeable and knew how to support them. One person said, “The staff know me well and know if I'm not feeling right. They get me help when I need it.” A relative commented, “The company we had before did not provide good care for my [family member] who was sleeping a lot because of their medication. These carers sorted that out straight away because they could see [family member] was struggling.”

The provider told us that staff supported numerous people with their mental health and told us how staff were equipped to support a person that went into crisis. “Staff are provided with information about signs of relapse and what to look for. We work with the crisis team and the mental health team for support and advice. If a person goes missing, we involve the police who will go looking for them after we have checked the usual places they go. A staff member said, “If anyone needed urgent support, I would pick this up by a change in their demeanor or a drastic change in how they normally do things and also knowing their triggers. Part of my job is to observe and to be able to communicate in an effective way in order to prevent any distress. We use personal behaviour support plans for some people. I can also request an additional staff member to manage support in distressing situations. Staff members are provided with contact details for different health professionals they may need to contact in distressing situations or when a person requires additional support.”

Staff told us the service promoted their well-being by asking them how they were feeling on a regular basis. This was done via 1-1 meetings with a line manager and wellbeing surveys were sent to staff. Staff were also sent a questionnaire that asked if they had suffered any type of abuse as part of their work. Staff told us they were “valued by the provider, felt their contributions were appreciated and felt listened to.” The provider also carried out team reflections with staff about how they felt working for the service. In addition a reflective practice called ‘Gem moments’ encouraged staff to think about the positive outcomes people they supported had achieved.

There was a strong organisational commitment and effective action to ensure there was equality and inclusion across the workforce. For example, NVQ’s for staff to support service improvement and personal progression. Risk assessments on lone working, coaching the staff team on how to be safe and how to respond should an incident occur such as sexual harassment, or aggression from a person they supported. Staff had a buddy and out-of-hours support person to call should they need any support out of hours. An open door policy encouraged staff to speak to the manager should they have any issues. For example, the provider had supported some staff with advance payments. One staff member was going through a stressful period in their personal life which was impacting their physical and emotional health. The provider arranged for the person to have some time off to support their mental health and wellbeing.