Cross House

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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has remained requires improvement. This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.

This service scored 60 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. Relatives told us their loved ones were supported by a staff team who were caring and compassionate. One relative told us, “Staff are one hundred per cent caring. You can tell that staff care for my [family member].” Another relative told us, “The way staff speak to my [family member] is very kind and they are invested in giving [family member] a really happy life.”

Visiting professionals confirmed staff were kind and caring. One professional told us, “On the whole staff are caring for example [staff member] has a really good understanding of [person], and she is very good at sharing that understanding with colleagues.”

The provider did not always treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. For example, we found people’s health care needs were not always met as stated in effective part of this report. This meant people were at risk of not having their individual care needs met.

Care plans provided guidance for staff regarding people’s cultural needs. For example, one person’s care plan detailed their religion, cultural foods they liked, products to use on their hair and how to use the products. One relative told us, “My [family member] has an African/ Caribbean heritage and staff will take them to a shop which sells appropriate food, but I will also bring meals, so it is the best of both worlds.”

Where people were deemed to lack capacity, the provider did not always ensure best interest measures were followed to ensure people were supported with their tenancy agreements for the health and safety of their homes, as stated in safe environments of this report. This did not meet right support, right care and right culture guidance; policies and the approach to care and treatment did not support people’s rights in line with their tenancy agreements. Professionals told us people did not always have choice and control. One professional told us, “A few of the staff will try to get involved with what [person] wants to do for example playing games with them on their PlayStation, but it is a bit hit and miss whether [staff] will get involved,”

People had been supported to learn new skills to increase their independence. For example, whilst people were not able to always able to order their drinks or food, they had learnt to pay for their own orders in coffee shops using their bank card. One relative told us, “I do think staff encourage independence for example with staff encouragement [family member] is doing more of their own personal care themself and [family member] will now wash up their plate and cup which they never did before.” Whilst independence was encouraged we found there was no detailed goals or aspirations plans in place on how people could achieve further skills, their goals or aspirations. This did not meet right support, right care and right culture guidance; policies and the approach to care and treatment did not support people’s strengths and what they could learn and achieve.

People were supported to access their community such as their local supermarkets. barbers, parks, museums and cinema. A staff member told us, “We support [person] to access community activities like parks, museums, appointments, and social events around [place] and [place], promoting inclusion and connection. We understand the importance of [person] getting involved with their community upon becoming an adult and we consider this when making the weekly planners now.” This met right support, right care and right culture guidance; practices and the approach to care and treatment supported people to have local access to their community.

The provider had not always listened understood people’s needs, views and wishes. We received mix feedback. One professional told us staff did not always have the knowledge to respond to people’s needs. They told us, “[organisation] and I provided training sessions to staff around [person’s] needs, but some staff seem to lack awareness of autism for example [person] will ask a question and they [staff] don’t know how to respond.” However, relatives told us, people were supported by a staff team who could identify people’s distress or discomfort from early signs. Relatives told us staff met people’s immediate needs and ensured they responded to them. One relative told us. “Quite often staff will stay on after their shift has finished in order to settle [Family Member] and if [person] is in crisis.”

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff had opportunities of one-to-one supervisions and team meetings to discuss wellbeing and any concerns. We received positive feedback from all staff about the support management offered them, with one staff member telling us,“I have regular supervision (monthly to be specific) and support from my manager, discussing performance, goals, and concerns. I'm confident that my manager is approachable and supportive, and I'm comfortable discussing any concerns or issues I may have.” Working hours had changed since our last assessment, meaning staff were provided with meaningful rest in between shifts.