H M T Care - 48 Albany Drive

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 70 (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.

We saw and heard many examples of acts of kindness by individual staff members or the service as whole that promoted people’s dignity and respect at all times. People and their loved ones had developed close and trusted relationships with the staff team and spoke highly of the impact they had on their lives. One relative told us, “There’s a new staff member who this is their first role in care. They read to my relative at night and just spend time with them and hold their hand. The provider wouldn’t employ staff who weren’t up to the job.” We heard other examples of staff arranging birthday parties, or spending time with people to reminiscence and look through photo albums together to share and discuss life events that were meaningful for people. Another relative told us “The carers are wonderful, they go above and beyond and visited hospital every day when my loved one was there.”
 

The provider treated people 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 able to live life at 48 Albany Drive on their own terms and pursue their own diverse passions and interests as well as maintaining and growing meaningful social connections. This included being able to participate in their community in a way that was accessible to them. One relative told us “My relative couldn’t live by themself, but staff support them to get out regularly such as on walks or to watch films at the cinema. I have no concerns at all and couldn’t give them a stronger recommendation.”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People’s independence was actively promoted as far as possible, and people or their loved ones were involved in their care to ensure in continued to meet their needs and preferences. Some people were able to manage their personal care themselves or with limited assistance, and there was guidance on how people could be supported with this to give them maximum control and protect their dignity. People were supported to make choices such as around food. One person told us “If I fancy something different to eat I can just ask. Every week the chef will sit down with me and plan a menu together.”

The provider did not always have systems that ensured people’s needs could always be responded to in a timely manner.

There were not always trained staff able to administer “as and when” medications at night, which risked delays to people who required medications such as pain relief or to relieve anxiety and distress in a timely way. Although there was an ability for staff to utilise the on-call system and for somebody to come in to administer, it is important that people are able to receive medication prescribed to meet their health needs without delay when required. The provider took appropriate action when this issue was raised.

We observed that staff were responsive to people’s needs, including regularly checking on people’s wellbeing. One person told us, “If I want something I can just ask staff and they are really nice.” However, the layout of the communal lounge did not always promote effective oversight of people’s needs. We identified staff would sit at a table at the rear of the room, where they could see the rear of people’s adapted chairs. This meant they could not always observe people’s facial expressions from this position despite that being an important form of communication where people could not do so verbally. The provider told us they were reviewing the layout of the building as part of wider redevelopment plans, and we saw regular checks on people were taking place.

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

Staff were proud to work at Albany Drive. The were mechanisms in place to support staff welfare such as regular meetings and surveys, and staff stated that leaders were approachable and supported them both professionally and personally. One staff member told us, “The new manager is great. I love working here. We get time to get to know people and form bonds with them. I’m proud to work here.” Another staff member added “If I ever have a personal problem such as with my health, the provider are very supportive. I have no concerns and it’s a nice community to work in.”