Devonshire Dementia 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 80 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People were consistently treated with great kindness, dignity and compassion by staff working in the care home. Without exception, we received only high praise from people about the managers and staff who worked at the care home. Feedback included, “The staff are all so lovely to me. They are all so kind and caring”, “The staff really take such wonderful care of my [family member]. They are all amazing and treat my [name of family member] with so much respect, kindness and compassion” and “The feedback we receive about the care home from our clients and their relatives is always highly complementary about how caring and kind the managers and staff who work at the care home all are.”

People looked at ease, comfortable and happy in the presence of managers and staff. The way managers and staff interacted with people living in the care home throughout our site visits was characterised by warmth, laughter and kindness. We observed many instances of managers and staff chatting and laughing together with people living in the care home. Staff were always attentive and reassuring to people and listened to what they had to say. For instance, we observed staff frequently and consistently interact with people by kneeling or bending down to engage with them at eye level. This indicated staff had built trusting and valued relationships with people living in the care home. The managers and staff spoke about people they supported in a respectful and affectionate manner. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity. A person told us, “Staff always knock on my door and ask if its alright if they come in.” We observed staff always knocked on people's doors before entering their rooms. Staff had received training related to privacy, dignity, and respect.

The provider treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The service took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Managers and staff treated people as individuals and ensured the personal care and support they received met their needs and preferences. They invested time in learning what mattered most to everyone. Consequently, they knew people well, drawing on detailed knowledge of life stories, routines, likes and dislikes to deliver individually tailored packages of care that meet their needs and wishes.

Managers and staff understood what mattered to people and ensured care was delivered in accordance with their expressed wishes as set out in each person’s individualised care plan. These plans contained detailed information about people’s strengths, likes and dislikes, spiritual and cultural needs, and how they preferred staff to meet their personal care and support needs and wishes. An example of this was that the service had installed music devices in communal bathrooms so people could listen to music during personal care. Staff reported this had a positive impact, reducing anxiety and making bathing a more enjoyable experience for people in the home.

People consistently told us staff were familiar with their needs, wishes and daily routines. A person described how staff knew all about their cultural heritage and would often offer to prepare meals and play music associated with the country of their birth. A relative added, “Staff have got to know my [name of family member] really well since they moved into the care home and know exactly what they like and what they don’t.”

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

Staff supported people to be as independent as possible with the tasks of daily living. For instance, we observed staff used tactile markers and had painted some of the care homes interior walls contrasting colours to help a person who was visually impaired safely navigate their way around the home’s environment. In addition, we observed staff who were assisting people to eat their lunchtime meal as independently as they could by using a ‘hand-under-hand’ technique which is a recognised best practice approach. Staff had received training in this independence promoting technique as part of their Positive Approach to Care (PAC) learning. These adjustments had enhanced the people’s ability to maintain their independence and managers and staff told us there was a strong emphasis in the care home on promoting people’s independent living skills whenever this was possible. A member of staff remarked, “Helping people we support to maintain their independence living skills is a central principle of the work we do at the home.” People moved freely around the care home and spent their time as they wished, with no unnecessary restrictions. Care plans gave staff a good overview of people’s differing dependency levels. This meant staff knew exactly what people were willing and capable of doing safely for themselves, and what tasks they would need additional support with. These plans made it clear there was an expectation on staff to proactively encourage and support people to do as much for themselves as possible.

People had choice and control over how their care and support was provided. For instance, we observed staff calmly and politely offer an alternative third meal choice to a person who said they did not like any of the lunchtime menu choices on offer that day, which resulted in this matter being resolved immediately and to their satisfaction. People confirmed they could make informed choices and decisions. A person told us, “I really didn’t fancy any of the meals choices on the menu today, so the chef said they would make me some pasta instead, which he knows is my favourite.” People’s choices and decisions were reflected in the care and support planned for them.

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff supported people to access community-based health and medical care services as and when required. Staff were aware of people’s health care needs and how to respond to any immediate health care emergencies to minimise the risk of people becoming distressed or unwell, emotionally and/or physically.

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

The provider promoted the mental health wellbeing of their staff by encouraging staff to join initiatives such as the Blue Light Card scheme and Care Workforce App. They also provided staff with financial incentives by offering free accommodation for the first month for all new staff, an annual bonus scheme, employee of the month awards, Birthday gift vouchers and paid training days. A community care professional told us, “The provider continues to experience low rates of staff turnover because they look after their staff so well.” A manager added, “We actively support our staff’s work-life balance through flexible working arrangements, accommodating childcare, education, and personal commitments.”

Staff told us they felt happy and safe working in the care home. A staff member said, “All the people that work here do genuinely care about each other’s wellbeing.” Another staff member added, “They [managers] have created a positive environment for everyone to work in. Personally, I am very happy working at the Devonshire. It’s a lovely place to work. All the managers and my work mates are so supportive of one another.” Staff had regular opportunities to meet with their line managers to discuss their wellbeing and home-work life balance. Staff told us they could request additional support or training if needed.