Avery Park Care Home

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 provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

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, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. We observed kindness, fun and shared laughter between staff and people. One person told us, “They’re kind folk [the staff] and we have a joke together.” Another person said, “It’s like an overgrown family, beautifully run by beautiful people”. Some people had a preference on the staff gender to support them with personal care. One person told us, “I was asked if I had a preference and I said yes, so I only get females.” Two other people told us they had their preferred gender of carer for personal care.

Staff were respectful of peoples privacy by ensuring doors were closed and windows covered during care delivery. Staff knocked on people’s doors before entering.

There was a visiting hairdresser that attended a salon area and people could have their nails manicured and grooming treatments if they wished.

People were treated as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. People were supported to take part in religious festivals or celebrations as they wished.

People were making choices about their care at point of delivery and staff respected the wishes of people who refused care. Staff had access to people’s history, interests and hobbies. Newer staff were still getting to know people, but conversations and interactions were individualised.

People were encouraged to maintain relationships with their families. One person told us, “My visitors can come and go as they like.” Another person told us that their family could visit at whatever time they wanted day or night. We observed people leaving the home to spend time with their friends and relatives in the community.

People’s independence was promoted; people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Records evidenced that where people had refused care and treatment this had been respected. We observed people to be making their own decisions and choices as much as possible. For example, people were choosing where to spend their time and some people frequently left the home to enjoy the community.

People who were experiencing dementia and not able to leave the home independently, were still choosing where to spend their time and were not restricted in where to go, sit, or enjoy the environment. We observed one person who liked to participate in a household activity, this supported their wellbeing and made them feel helpful, so staff supported and encouraged this.

There were choices of activity for people to join in with and 3 food options on the menu daily. If people didn’t like something they could have something else made.

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff were observant and responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. We observed a member of staff notice a person’s dress had unbuttoned, they approached them discretely and kindly, asked if they could help which the person welcomed. We observed another person to become distressed, a staff member quickly offered support and comfort and were able to reassure the person and resolve their distress as they had knowledge of what the person needed from them in that moment.

Call bells were answered promptly in order of greatest need or impact. There was no evidence of people being left for extended periods of time that needed urgent support, for example with toilet support needs.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

The provider had a good understanding of staff commitments outside of the home and how this could impact their wellbeing. We saw an example of the providers approach to continuing to support a staff member to work and meet family commitments. Some staff also had flexible shift start and finish times to accommodate other commitments. Staff told us the manager was approachable, and they felt listened to. A staff member told us that they raised a concern and it was managed quickly. Staff had regular meetings, handovers and supervision where they received information, could ask questions or raise concerns.

An occupational health department was available to staff as and when needed which could support with physical and mental wellbeing. A staff member we spoke to had a positive experience of this service.