Highfield House Nursing 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 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 spoke positively about the care they received from a kind and caring staff team who treated them with dignity and respect. People told us, “There are a few very caring staff, I have to say most of them are like that, they treat me very, very well”, “Carers are all fantastic, I have no complaints” and “Staff are very good, they are all very kind.” Relatives’ comments included, “The staff are brilliant – they understand [persons] needs and know her”, “what I have observed is that staff are attentive, caring and normal – no hidden pretence they actually do care” and “The staff are really good with dementia, they are caring, patient and kind.”

During observation staff were seen to be polite, respectful and kind. They showed a genuine interest in people and their relatives. People were comfortable with staff and there was a genuine feeling of affection between them. One staff member said, “I hope I am always smiling and talking nicely, I am compassionate and am always willing to take time with residents. It’s being there and being supportive, making them comfortable and being a friendly smiling face.” Another staff member told us, “I love them all, they are family.” A third staff member said, “Staff genuinely care about residents which is the backbone of a good service.”

A professional told us, “All the staff show that they are caring, they treat each person as an individual and understand their wants/needs – they engage effectively with the residents.”

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 and relatives felt valued and listened to and confirmed they were treated as individuals and that staff knew them well. Comments included, “The staff really know me well and how I like things to be done.” A relative said, “The staff are brilliant, they understand [persons] needs and know them.” A professional told us, “The staff understand the residents and their needs.”

Staff tailored their approach to make sure their care was person-centred and had regard to people’s cultural backgrounds and beliefs. Staff spoken with clearly knew the people they supported and were able to describe how people liked to receive care, their personal preferences and what was important to them. During our assessment visits we heard staff talk to people about subjects they were interested in.

People’s individual care records contained detailed personalised information, including their likes and dislikes, personal abilities and social interests and preferences, as well as spiritual or religious views and what support may be required to meet these.

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

Some care plans viewed contained detailed information about the level of support people required and what they could do for themselves. However, we identified this was not the case for all. This was discussed with the manager who agreed action would be taken to ensure this information was provided.

Although some care plans were lacking information, through observations and discussions with people and staff we found independence was promoted and encouraged. People and relatives confirmed they were well supported by staff to maintain as much independence as is possible. Comments from people and relatives included, “The staff are walking with me daily, to help me feel more confident” and “The staff are always on hand when I need them, but they do encourage me to do what I can.”

Staff and managers considered ways they could promote and support people to be as independent as possible. This included ensuring people had access to appropriate equipment such as mobility aids and specialist or adapted cutlery to allow them to remain as independent as possible with mobility and eating and drinking.

All the people and relatives we spoke with confirmed they were offered a range of choices about how they lived, what they did and how they were supported. A person said, “I am always given choices about what I do, and they [staff] treat me very well. I can have a shower when I want one, eat what I want and am really well looked after.” Another person told us, “I’m quite happy here, I can get up and go to bed when I want to.”

People and relatives told us staff supported them to maintain family and friendship circles and we observed relatives were able to visit their loved ones without restriction. Comments included, “I come to lunch and visit whenever I want” and “My grandchildren can come over and we have a film night in my room with wine and they leave after 10pm.”

Activity staff were in the home seven days per week and there was a varied activities programme in place for people to partake in. Activities included outings to local places of interests, visits from local entertainers, quizzes and arts and crafts. Most people spoken with enjoyed the activities offered. A person said, “They [staff] took me down the seafront at the weekend, it was lovely, and we had an ice cream.” Another person told us, “There is always something going on, I definitely don’t get bored.” A volunteer who worked at the home said, “For VE day we went round and asked people what they had to eat at their street parties in the past so we could replicate this. There is a lot going on, people are taken out and there are all sorts of entertainment, BBQs and keep fit. People in their rooms aren’t forgotten, and they are visited, offered and included in things.” However, some people commented, they felt the activities were more catered for people who experience a cognitive impairment.

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.

During our assessment visits we observed staff responded quickly to people and provided reassurance appropriately. We also observed they responded to call bells in a timely way, which was confirmed when we reviewed the provider’s regularly completed call bell analysis. People and relatives did not raise any concerns in relation to the responsiveness of the staff.

Staff told us they acted on concerns linked to people's care and health by escalating them to the nurse or a manager. On review of people’s care records, it was noted referrals had been made to healthcare specialists where required.

Staff demonstrated they understood signs and symptoms that a person may be in pain or discomfort and supported them accordingly. Information was included in care records about any pain management. An electronic recording system was used and this system prompted staff when there had been changes to care plans or people’s health and wellbeing to enable staff to act in the moment based on relevant and up to date information.

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

Staff felt valued and were clear that they could speak with the management team at any time and felt that their views, opinions and suggestions would be listened to. Staff were very positive about the manager and clinical lead and described them as approachable and supportive.

The management team understood the need to make reasonable adjustments for staff who may have social, religious or culture needs to fulfil and individually tailored support for staff could be offered if specific situations arose.

Staff emotional wellbeing had been considered and staff had access to an employee assistance program, where they could get advice or support 24 hours a day. A staff member told us, “When incidents occur, which could cause staff distress there is usually a debrief to allow staff to discuss it. Hartford Care are trying to be forward thinking and understand staff are emotionally invested.” There were staff reward schemes and award programs in place which included employee of the month and access to financial discounts.