Wythall Residential 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 70 (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.
We observed staff interact with people in a kind, patient and caring manner. People we spoke with told us they were happy living at the service. One person said, “I’m happy here, I like the food, don’t get much choice but what they give you is very nice. The staff are nice, I can't complain.” A relative also told us, “They [staff] are kind and caring as far as I can tell, there’s certain ones that [Person’s name] likes more than others”. Another relative said, “[Staff member’s name] works every weekend they are very considerate and thoughtful.”
 

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. Staff engaged with people in ways that mattered to them and supported meaningful activity. For example, we saw 1 member of staff encourage several people to take part by offering each person a different activity based on their interests. People were supported to personalise their bedrooms to reflect their preferences, including displaying family photographs and other memorabilia. A relative told us, “The staff wheel [Person’s name] to the lounge where he has a favourite chair in front of the television but can also look out of the window which he likes to do”. One relative told us how people’s birthdays were celebrated, they said, “They [staff] do celebrate birthdays. They have a cake and happy birthday balloons”.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. There was no designated activities staff, so care staff provided activities alongside their care duties and encouraged people to make everyday choices. A relative told us, “I think they [staff] are caring and offer my relative as much independence as they can.” We saw some people kept keys to their rooms, which supported their privacy and control over their personal space, and some people used their own mobile phones so they could stay in close contact with family and friends. People welcomed visitors throughout our visit and relatives told us they also took their family member out. One person said, “I don’t like to join in the activities I like to spend time sitting in the dining room. I’ve been out with the staff, we had a great time, we laughed all day.” However, relatives gave mixed feedback about opportunities for meaningful activity; one relative told us, “There doesn’t seem to be many activities going on although I did see a guy doing chair exercises in the lounge,” and another said, “Sometimes my brother and I meet him at the local garden centre, a carer brings him there for an hour”.

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.We observed staff respond to people’s needs in a timely way and answer call bells promptly. One person told us, “Staff are always asking what they can do and if I need anything.” Staff also demonstrated how they anticipated the needs of people who had communication difficulties. Staff were familiar with individual preferences and routines, which enabled them to intervene early and provide comfort, reduce anxiety and promote people’s wellbeing.
 

The provider did not always promote the wellbeing of their staff. Staff did not consistently receive supervision, appraisals or have the opportunity to take part in team meetings, which limited opportunities for formal support and development. This was discussed with the provider who assured us they would provide additional support to the registered manager to enable improved support structure for staff. However, we found staff held daily handover meetings at each shift change to share essential information about people’s needs. Staff also told us they found management approachable and felt able to raise any concerns with them.