Carrick

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• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Staff valued people and were kind and caring in their approach. There was a culture of supporting people to be independent and live meaningful lives in the way they chose. People’s individual needs were respected, including their preferred communication styles.

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.

Relatives told us staff were caring and people living at Carrick were valued. One commented; “[Deputy manager] seems very personable, nice chap and attentive to [Name’s] needs. And [Name] seems to like and accept him. He is very good. I take my hat off to them all (staff).” Another said, “They've treated [Name] with nothing but kindness and respect, they genuinely like him.”

Staff were positive when speaking to us about people and clearly took pleasure when they saw people were happy and content. Comments included; “He’s a lovely guy” and “[X] is great, they are all in a good place.”

Recent feedback from one professional to the service read; “It was wonderful to see [X] looking so well. I even said they looked 10 years younger!”

We observed caring interactions between staff and people. People looked relaxed, healthy and well cared for.

People were supported to do things that mattered to them. For example, one person chose to spend a long time in the bath while another person went shopping and then on a bus trip.

Staff were able to talk about people’s individual needs and how they preferred to be supported.

People spent time doing things that they enjoyed. For example, one person liked to be involved in completing tasks around the service and staff encouraged them with this. Another person was more likely to spend time on their own and this was respected.

It had been identified that people had not had much opportunity to holiday. Staff were working with people and relatives to identify what kind of break would suit each individual.

People were supported with their communication needs, for example communication boards and electronic devices were used where appropriate.

Staff supported people to take part in a range of activities that supported their independence, health and well-being. A member of staff told us, “People are out all the time, that is the difference between now and before; it is a lot better. It is really proactive.”

We observed staff gently supporting people when they carried out everyday tasks. The support provided was appropriate to individuals abilities and skills. People chose where in the service they wanted to spend their time.

People’s care plans identified what people could do for themselves and where they required support.

The staff team were attentive and responded positively to people’s requests for support or to engage with particular activities.

Staff told us they knew people well and were often able to recognise when they were becoming heightened or agitated. Although they were not able to prevent this they told us they were usually able to deflect the situation.

When people became agitated we saw staff provide support quickly and calmly. However, this was not always enough to prevent periods of anxiety. This could be distressing for the person involved and other individuals.

Staff told us they were well-supported by management. One told us; “We have staff meetings and supervisions, there are lots of chances for us to speak up.” Another told us they had been encouraged and given time, to develop professionally.

An on-call system enabled staff to get support from trained staff at all times, including during the night.