Radfield Home Care Chippenham & North Wiltshire

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• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We reviewed 7 quality statements for this key question.

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 relatives were involved in planning care and care plan reviews. One relative told us, “Someone from the senior management team comes to see [relative] at least three times a year. They [staff] always tell me whatever is going on and they do keep me informed.” One person told us, “I have got a copy [of the care plan] here in a hard folder. Since I have been on my own, it had to be changed to meet my needs. They [staff] supply a hard folder with a copy of everything that needs to take place in it.”

Staff shared examples with us of how they worked in a person-centred way and involved people in producing and reviewing their care plans. One member of staff told us, “Clients are involved in reviewing care plans, we do monthly or 3 monthly reviews, we involve [person] in this review, the care plan is geared for them, what they want and how they want their care to be delivered. We ask them who they want to be involved in their care. We try and promote people’s independence as much as possible”.

People had continuity with their visits as the same group of staff were allocated to deliver their care. One relative told us, “I just feel that the way they organised the staff so that [relatives] only sees a few staff now. They [staff] get to know my [relatives] and they get to know them. We as a family would highly recommend them.”

Staff told us they had time to get to know people. They told us they visited the same group of people which enabled them to get to know people’s needs.

Professionals did not share any concerns about this quality statement.

The registered manager and nominated individual were local people who knew the area well. They were aware of the needs of local communities and wanted to try and provide a service to meet demand. Continuity of care was an aim for the service and making sure people experienced this was important to the management.

People could have information in ways that were suitable for their needs.

The registered manager told us they could provide information in ways that were accessible to anyone using the service.

Since 2016 all organisations that provide publicly funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard (AIS). The AIS tells organisations what they have to do to help ensure people with a disability or sensory loss, and in some circumstances, their carers, get information in a way they can understand it. it also says that people should get the support they need in relation to communication. We found the provider was following the AIS making sure people’s communication needs were recorded. Staff knew people’s communication needs and how to support people with any information sharing.

People and relatives had access to a complaints procedure and knew how to make a complaint if needed.

Management told us they were assured people knew how to raise any concerns as people regularly called the office to share feedback. The registered manager told us they tried to resolve any concerns raised to improve outcomes for people. For example, one person had called the office to say they did not want a specific carer to visit them again. The registered manager visited the person and listened to their concerns. They agreed a way forward with the person to resolve their concerns and make sure they were happy with their carer. The nominated individual told us they had just completed calls to people prior to this assessment to check they were happy with the times of their visits. They told us they carried out this type of call to people regularly to monitor satisfaction levels.

A complaints policy and process were available to people in the service handbook. Where people had complained, records were kept of action taken and any outcome. People had information on how to escalate any concern if they were not satisfied.

There were different ways people could get in touch with staff and/or management at the service. People could telephone which included an out of hours service. People could also email or use the electronic care plan system. One relative said, “They [staff] always answer my texts and my phone calls. They might not answer straight away, but they always phone me back.”

The registered manager told us they worked to overcome any barriers people faced with access to services. For example, people had an electronic care plan but if they preferred, they could have a paper copy. The service arranged transport for people to attend health appointments and staff escorted them where appropriate. The nominated individual told us, “We are rural in Wiltshire, lots of people get left behind. It is easy to look after people in towns but some of our clients live in little villages. We actively look to support people in villages as we know how difficult this can be.”

Professionals did not share any concerns regarding this quality statement.

People were supported to have access to their care records using methods that suited them. The service had an office location in the centre of Chippenham which people could access via stairs and a lift.

People’s care and support was delivered to meet their needs regardless of any barriers they may face.

Management were aware of potential discrimination people may face due to factors such as age and health needs. Staff told us they felt able to share ideas to help people overcome barriers and continue to lead independent lives. For example, staff told us about a person was not able to have a shower due to their health needs. Staff liaised with an occupational therapist who put specialist equipment in place. This enabled the person to continue to have a shower. The staff member said, “We work hard to help people.”

The service had a range of policies and procedures to make sure people did not face any discrimination. Staff had information about people’s human rights as part of their induction. Staff were provided with regular updates via training, meetings and supervisions to make sure they were aware of potential inequality or discrimination.

People were offered the opportunity to record any wishes or preferences they had for end-of-life care.

Staff told us they were confident if they needed to support people who were end of life management would make sure they had what they needed. One member of staff said, “I am knowledgeable about end-of-life care, but Radfield would implement more training to cater for that person’s needs if needed. All the care is personalised, and we would get the guidance needed for the person.”

The service was not providing any end-of-life care at the time of our assessment. However, this type of care had been provided in the past. The service had a policy for this type of care and would contact health professionals to support the person with areas such as pain management.