The Care Quality Commission

Archived: Portland Residential Home

50 Wakeham, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1HN (01305) 826983

Provided and run by:
Mrs Jennifer Gillespie

All Inspections

3 February 2011

During an inspection in response to concerns

We saw that staff showed sensitivity and respect for individuals in how they worked and spoke with the people that lived in the home. They responded to people's choices and preferences. People told us about choosing where they spent their time at different times of day, where to eat, when to get up and go to bed. People engaged in a variety of activities, both planned and spontaneous. A social worker we contacted after our visit said 'I could see people have fun living there'. There was a homely relaxed atmosphere in the lounge, with natural conversation between people.

For one person we spoke with, there were privacy and dignity aspects of a medical condition, which needed careful management. They said 'the staff understand my needs completely, we have worked out a way of handling [the condition] together'. Another person told us the care they received from staff was based on agreement about what they needed and how they liked things to be done. We spoke to a person's relative, who visited them at the home every week. They said the staff understood their relative's special needs very well. They saw the person in the home as happier as a result of moving there.

The home was clean and free of any offensive odours. People said they were pleased with personal and shared rooms. One person considered they had 'the best room in the home, everything is in the right place for me'. Bedrooms that we saw reflected the personalities of their occupants. Everyone we spoke with said they were always warm in the home, including through the recent severe winter weather. A person's visitor said they always found the home warm.

A person living in the home said 'they definitely make the effort to check if you are satisfied, they involve family visitors too'. Another said they were 'always being asked if I'm happy, and sometimes we go through a questionnaire'. We saw a form that had been completed the previous week. A person wanted potatoes cooked in different ways and this had been passed to the cook for action.