Havencare Cornwall

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 heard of incidents when staff had not used valuing language when talking about people. However, people were supported to develop and maintain their independent living skills. Staff celebrated people’s achievements and generally people were valued and supported to live meaningful lives.

This service scored 65 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Surveys showed people had said they were treated with kindness and dignity. Most people told us staff spoke to them respectfully. One person said they were sometimes spoken to like a child. We heard one member of staff describe someone in a disrespectful manner. We discussed this with the registered manager who said they would follow this up with the staff member.

Staff said they would challenge others if they thought they were disrespectful towards people. However, we heard of incidences when staff had overheard other staff talking about people in a negative way and had not reported this.

Feedback from external professionals was positive. One commented; “Team members consistently talk about the people they support with respect and individuality.”

People’s individual needs were known to staff. One person told us; “We have a good joke together. I feel relaxed with [staff name]. They know me well and work in a good funny way if you know what I mean. [Staff name] is just brilliant.” We saw people were valued by staff and their achievements were celebrated.

Where people used simple sign language to support their communication staff received appropriate training and competency checks were completed.

Care plans contained information about people’s diverse needs and any goals or aspirations they might have. When people started receiving support from Havencare Cornwall, staff had high expectations for them and worked to improve their lives. A relative commented; “I think they give [X] such a full programme of structured things to do that it keeps [X] really happy. [X] loves going out for coffee. When I did say that I wanted [X] to integrate more in the community, managers took it on board and recently went to a local fete and ended up helping on the stall.”

People were supported to develop and maintain their independence. A professional commented; “Staff have supported the individual to seek out and attend activities that are of interest to them, access the community and worked with them to put things in place to support them keeping themself safe.” Some people had expressed an interest in employment. Staff worked with them to identify opportunities.

Leaders and staff gave us examples of how people had been encouraged to develop skills and confidence to enable them to be more self-reliant. Staff encouraged people to meet and talk with us and gave them privacy or support according to their preference.

There were systems for gathering people’s views, including people who did not use words to communicate. When needed, advocacy support was put in place.

A compliment record contained feedback from an external professional commenting on how staff had worked to meet one person’s sensory seeking behaviours and support their communication giving them control of day to day activities.

People had access to communication tools to support them. There was clear guidance for staff on how to use these tools in line with individual needs. Staff told us these were effective and gave people control over their day to day lives. A relative commented; “[X} will sign shopping and staff respond to those choices. [X] chooses what to wear and where they want to go.”

Staff told us they sometimes worked long shifts and did not have regular scheduled breaks. The long shifts were particularly difficult for staff who were lone working with people who sometimes had prolonged periods of distress.

While staff said they were supported to debrief following any incident, they did not always have immediate access to private spaces. Staff working in hubs attended staff meetings and supervisions in the hub. They told us this meant there was a lack of confidentiality to allow them to discuss private information. However, managers encouraged staff to develop their skills and knowledge. There were systems to support professional development.