Green Care Services

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 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 treated with kindness and respect. People had good relationships with the staff. People’s cultural, religious and other diverse needs were met. Staff understood these needs and provided individual care. For example, the staff used a range of different techniques to communicate with people. These included speaking different languages, use of sign languages, objects of reference and picture board communication. People using the service were supported to be independent when they were able and encouraged to make choices. Some people were supported to access community activities and engage in a range of social and leisure events. Staff felt well supported and enjoyed working at the agency. There were systems to provide staff with formal and informal support as well as opportunities to train, undertake qualifications and career progression. We did not assess all the quality statements within this key question. We did not identify concerns relating to these areas which we judged as being met at our last inspection.

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 were treated with kindness, compassion and respect. People using the service and their relatives confirmed this, telling us they received personalised care from staff who knew them well. People had good relationships with the staff. Staff were kind, caring, polite and respected people’s privacy. Some of the comments from people using the service and their relatives included, “Staff are polite, caring and I am involved’’, “They are friendly and happy’’, “They have a laugh with [person]’’, “The carer is really kind’’ and “They treat our home respectfully.’’

People were treated as individuals. People using the service and their relatives told us their culture, religion and individual needs were respected. The provider matched staff who spoke people’s language and understood their culture. People confirmed this telling us how they were supported with meals, prayers and activities which reflected their individual needs. People also told us that staff took time to make sure they had the individual care they needed. One relative explained, “The staff get [person], [their] daily newspaper which is important for [them].’’ There were examples of personalised care which showed how the staff had treated people as individuals, providing a range of different activities and support which was personalised, helping people to be more independent and to access other healthcare services. The staff explained how they supported some people (who did not have local family members) to make and attend appointments, collect medicines and liaise with the GP and other professionals. They also shopped for people who needed this, or supported people to access the shops themselves. In addition to cultural needs, the provider tried to match staff who shared common interests and could support people with their holistic needs. For example, they had identified 1 person who enjoyed talking about politics and had a good sense of humour. They supported them with staff who could converse about the news and who shared a similar sense of humour. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the people they cared for. Their comments included, “They share their thoughts and their life journey with me. I communicate with them, and they feel happy with me. I feel happy with them’’ and “I provide a range of support tailored to individuals’ needs to enhance their well-being and quality of life.’’

People were supported to make choices and be in control of their care. People and their relatives confirmed this with 1 relative commenting, “[Person] can definitely make choices, and this gives [them] confidence.’’ People were also supported to be independent when they were able. One relative commented, “The carer tells [person], ‘Brush your hair because you do it so beautifully’ and ‘You are drying yourself so well.’ This has helped [person] to develop their skills and feel proud of [their] achievements.’’ The provider supported some people to access a range of community-based activities and learn skills such as money handling and personal safety. People were also supported with healthy choices and exercise programmes. Staff worked closely with each person, their representatives and other professionals to monitor the success of their support and adjust care. Staff understood people’s personal communication styles and supported them by providing clear information. For example, the staff used visual aids, ‘now/next’ cards and photographs to help people understand what was planned and to enable them to make choices.

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.

The provider supported staff wellbeing and opportunities to learn and develop in their roles. Some of the comments from staff included, “I am proud to work for Greencare. We work with a personalised approach for each individual’’, “I learn about different people and learn ideas to support them’’, “There is good teamwork, and managers listen to staff concerns’’ and “Greencare Services foster a supportive and productive working environment. They provide training and practical guidance.’’ There were regular staff meetings for groups of staff and individuals to discuss the service with the management team. There were good systems of communication between staff and to help staff understand about best practice. The provider celebrated staff successes and offered opportunities for staff to undertake qualifications and to develop their learning.