Longhouse

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.

Staff made sure that people received compassionate care and support and took the time to get to know people. This meant that staff understood people’s care and support needs, wishes and choices. The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. One relative said, “They make a warm welcoming environment.”

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, unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff received training in dignity and respect and spoke about the people they supported with genuine care and compassion, demonstrating a shared commitment to providing high quality care. One staff member said “We get to learn their histories, wishes and goals. all this information is placed in someone's care plan. We have meetings with them and families, and staff are always talking spending time with people while they are in respite.”

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.

Care plans were person-centred and detailed people’s preferences, strengths and aspirations. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s personal, cultural, social and religious needs and how to meet them. A staff member told us, “We speak to families and find out about their cultural, social or religious needs and when working we try to support by allocation one to one staff for specific requirements to fulfil their wishes.” This was corroborated by feedback from professionals, people and their relatives. A professional told us, “I find staff to be personable, responsive, knowledgeable, and happy to help.”

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 have independence, choice and control in all aspects of their care and support.

We observed people make choices about what activities they wanted to engage in and which places they wanted to visit. One person on respite was exploring arts and crafts options during the assessment. Staff supported people to develop and maintain independent living skills around shopping and cooking in line with the needs identified in their care plans.

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’s care plans, protocols and risk assessments provided staff with clear guidance on responding to people’s immediate needs in a safe and person-centred way. For example, where people presented with feelings of distress, they provided staff with strategies on how to support the person to minimise any discomfort, anxiety or distress. One staff member told us, “Every person is individual and we respect each and everyone’s needs and wishes by giving them choices and respecting their decisions.”

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

Staff told us they were valued by the management team. One staff member said, “we have a good management team that celebrate us when we pass or archive work/training etc within the workplace. The rota is planned to make sure we get good down time, and if we need a day off for whatever reason, they will try and factor this into the rota.”

The provider supported staff wellbeing by promoting it actively and sharing information about both internal and external support resources available to them.

Records showed staff had regular team meetings, and staff spoke positively about management. One staff member said, “If I have a problem the managers door is always open.”