The Meath Epilepsy Charity

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

People told us they were treated with kindness, compassion and dignity and we observed this during our visit. One person said, “Staff help me step by step; they are very protective of me.” Relatives thought the staff team and management were caring and treated their family members with respect and dignity. Their comments included, “It’s a unique place. They are very caring and very thoughtful, and the welfare of all the residents is the most important thing to them”, “They are always kind and caring”, “2 staff support him to transfer. I have seen them. They are careful and kind” and “They are respectful. They knock before going in his room.”

The staff were kind and caring and responded to people’s needs promptly and respectfully. We observed the staff to be patient, caring, and displaying genuine affection and respect for people.

External professionals commented the service provided good and effective care to people. One commented, “The Meath is always a friendly place to visit, and residents are treated with respect and dignity. I don’t have any concerns about the service they provide.” Another commented, “Those who live at The Meath are supremely well cared for and their wellbeing is managed respectfully and kindly. The residents of The Meath with their complex array of daily challenges, are able to cope with their lives only because of the expert care given and their lives are enhanced because those in positions of care go the extra mile with a smile. It is an inspirational place.”

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.

The registered manager and staff knew people as individuals and were committed to ensuring people were treated as such.This included in relation to their faith and sexuality. Care plans detailed people’s wishes and preferences and we saw evidence the staff knew and respected these.

We observed staff attending to people’s needs in a calm and respectful manner, interacting and chatting to them. A staff member was sitting with a person looking through photographs and smiling together. Another person was having their nails painted by a staff member. Where staff were providing one to one care, many went out for the afternoon as requested by the person, for example, one person had gone out for lunch and another to the local town.

People were supported to undertake a wide range of activities in line with their interests and choices. These included horticulture, swimming, drama, football, therapeutic music and pottery and many others. People’s comments included, “Drama is the best. I am nervous but I am not alone”, “I love being able to get out and swim”, “I really enjoy the horticulture session. It’s actually my favourite skills centre activity.” Some people had taken part in a mini performance of The Tempest. Comments after the show included, “It was a lovely experience - we all did smashing work, fantastic even! Loved our teamwork!”, “I wanted to try and be a funny character, not evil, because I don’t want to scare anybody!” and “Everybody did really well today.” A healthcare professional told us, “The residents are kept busy in the skills centre and on trips and fun events are organised for them such as fireworks night and trips out.”

People’s achievements in a range of areas were recognised and celebrated during “The Meath” award ceremony. People told us they were proud and felt valued. Their comments included, “I felt really happy listening to [Manager] talk about what I had done well. I enjoyed hearing everyone else's achievements, it made me well up inside. It was nice having my mum and dad watching me too” and “I feel proud, I wasn’t expecting the outstanding award for my pottery.”

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

People were supported to remain as independent as they could be. People’s choices, as well as their personal, cultural, social and religious needs were understood and respected. Some people required one to one support to ensure they were safe. However, within the time they were supported, they were encouraged to take part in a range of activities.

One person required support with personal care but was able to partly wash and dress themselves. The staff told us they encouraged them with verbal prompts. One staff member told us, “We ask people their choice first and give them time. Sometimes they will change their mind, so we need to give them that freedom and always ask.”

Some people were included in the independent skills rota, which included taking bins out, laundry, setting tables, sweeping, cleaning the tables and cooking meals. We saw a person sweeping the corridors. They told us they enjoyed being busy.

There were regular ‘residents’ meetings. On the day of our inspection, we were invited to join in one of the meetings. It was well attended, and people were seen to participate confidently. We saw they were discussing menus and what people might want.

The service offered a social skills centre, and a gym, which were well attended.

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.

From our observations, we found people’s needs were responded to by staff promptly and kindly. Staff were available and supported people respectfully and with dignity.

The service employed a specialist epilepsy nurse to help ensure people’s individual needs were understood and met, and the staff were able to access advice on people’s conditions promptly in order to meet their needs. There was also a consultant specialising in epilepsy coming to the service twice a year to review everyone’s needs.

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

The management team spoke positively about the staff team. There were systems in place to identify if staff had any specific health or wellbeing needs.

Staff felt supported and spoke of being a good team. They told us the management team cared about them and took any suggestion seriously. A staff member told us, “We are listened to by management. We bring concerns to the management meetings, and the nominated individual listens to us in order to improve the service.” Staff were supported with their professional development and any training they requested. Staff told us they felt happy working at the service and thought there was a positive culture. The nominated individual is the person responsible for the service on behalf of the provider.

A range of ideas had been put in place to help staff feel valued and appreciated. These included, a monthly staff newsletter and a staff recognition scheme whereby each month, staff who displayed the company’s values or who went above and beyond would be nominated and rewarded. There were occasional pizza van deliveries and ice cream vans organised, there were, ‘Staff and family days’ whereby a BBQ and picnic on the lawn was organised, and the staff could bring their family. The provider also had an employee assistance programme, to enable staff to claim cash back for health needs or access counselling if needed.