Goldthorn Lodge

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 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 told us they were treated with kindness and respect. One person said, “I like the staff here I get on with them.” Another person said, “Everyone is nice”. Staff spoke about people in a positive and respectful manner and shared multiple examples of kind, compassionate and dignified care. For example, a staff member described how they supported a person to move to a private area when they were emotionally distressed. They did this to support the person to become calm, to provide 1 to 1 interaction and to protect their dignity and privacy. We observed positive interactions between people and staff and people were at ease and comfortable with the staff who supported them.

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 told us about their individual likes and dislikes, and this information matched what staff told us and what was contained in people’s care records. For example, 1 person told us how they enjoyed craft activities and showed us the craft items they had made. Staff told us this person enjoyed craft and described how they supported them to participate in craft activities. This showed staff understood people’s individual needs. Each person’s care records contained unique information about them.

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

People told us independence and choices were promoted. One person told us, “I can do what I want, I go out for a walk if I want. They always ask if I want company or help.” Some people had lawful restrictions placed upon them to promote their safety. We spoke with some people who had these restrictions in place, and they told us and we saw they were supported to do the things they wanted to do safely. For example, 1 person requested an unplanned visit to the hairdressers. We observed staff promptly support this person to access the hairdressers as this was what they wanted to do at that time. Staff told us they promoted independence where possible. One staff member said, “We try to skill as much as we can and not to de-skill.”

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.

People told us and we saw staff responded to their immediate needs. One person told us about a time when they had a fall. They said, “I bent down and had a tumble. [Staff member] pressed the alarm and 3 staff came within 2 minutes”. This person also told us about the one time they had used their call bell. They said, “They [staff] were there in a second”. Staff told us how they supported people during periods of emotional distress. The information staff told us matched the information contained in people’s positive behavioural support plans which showed staff understood how to respond to people’s individual needs in times of distress.

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Without exception, all the staff we spoke with spoke very positively about the support they received from the registered manager, senior leaders and the provider. Staff spoke very positively about how they were supported to be the best they could be. This included progressing through different roles at the service. One staff member said, “They saw something in me and encouraged me to apply for a promotion. I applied and I got it, I’m very proud.” Another staff member told us how they had been inspired and supported to achieve a leadership qualification. They said, “[Registered manager] is brilliant, he is fantastic, inspirational, [registered manager] inspired me to do my level 5. [Registered manager] sat me down and really supported me to do that qualification. [Registered manager] has got me a company laptop and helped me all the way through.”

Staff turnover was very low, and most of the staff told us they had worked at the service for a long time and had no plans to leave. One staff member said, “[Registered manager] is 5 star, I can’t go anywhere else. I want to retire here; he really looks after us and explains everything.”

The registered manager and operations manager told us how they had introduced the role of team leader at the service to provide the staff with more opportunities for career progression. This meant staff could be supported to progress through the roles of support worker, team leader and senior if they desired to do so.

The registered manager and operations manager told us workforce wellbeing was very important to them. The registered manager said, “We have to be as person centred to staff as the residents.” They gave us examples of how staff had been recognised and rewarded for their work and length of service. Examples shared were individual to each staff member which evidenced they understood each staff members individual needs and preferences.

Staff had access to employer assistance programmes, discount applications, mentorship and coaching. In addition, the registered manager was a trained counsellor which enabled them to provide prompt wellbeing support and signposting to the staff.