Leahyrst 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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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.

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. People and relatives told us they were happy living at the service, and staff treat them with kindness and compassion. A relative said, “The staff team care a lot. They are a settled team, which is good too." We observed staff treating people kindly and promoting their dignity and respect. For example, we observed a staff member supporting a person who was becoming distressed. Staff sat with this person talking patiently and assisted them using a calm and kind approach.

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. Staff treated people as individuals. Staff knew people well. A person said, "It’s nice and quiet here which suits me as I don't like a lot of noise." We observed people being supported to eat in a kind, patient and compassionate manner.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Staff told us how they promoted choices for people and people told us they had choices, such as meals and when they would like personal care. A person said, "I can get up and go to bed when I choose.” A staff member said, “We have a boutique once a month, it gives people a proper shopping experience and they really enjoy it. Other things we do monthly are the pub quiz and a staff appreciation day where people choose (which staff) and get involved making up gift bags for them. We also have a people and relatives meeting every six weeks. We have 1:1 activities for people, dependent on their needs. We have a lot of group activities, which foster positive relationships within the home.” Menus were in place to enable people to choose what they like to eat. A 'you said, we did' board was in place and evidenced what had changed as a result of people giving feedback about their care. For example, the provider had purchased a radio for a communal area and provided different foods, at the request of people living at the service. People had regular access to a hairdresser who visited the service.

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. We observed staff responding to people's needs in a timely way and people told us staff met their needs. A person said, “The staff are smashing” and another person said, "Since I've been here, I haven’t had anything bothering me. The staff are there if I need them." People appeared well kempt. People were offered a varied diet and people told us they enjoyed their meals. Fluids and snacks were available to people in communal areas, to encourage them to eat and drink.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff were provided with an employee assistance programme, which included a mental health helpline. Staff were also provided with discount cards for shops. Staff told us they were happy and enjoyed their roles. A staff member said, “It is really nice here, since I started the manager has been awesome. I have had loads of training. I can't thank the staff enough, they are incredible, they have helped me and taught me so much. I have learnt so much from them.”