Swanage 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 service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

The last rating for this key question was 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.

People were treated with kindness, compassion and dignity. People told us they liked the staff. Their comments included, “Staff are kind”, “I love them all, the staff are good” and “Staff are nice.” We saw staff interacting with people in a person-centred, calm and friendly way. Staff smiled at people, addressed them politely, used their preferred terms of address. They spent time engaging with people and paying them attention. We saw staff offering people choices and making suggestions about what they may want to eat or do. Staff asked people’s permission before sitting with them, knocked on bedroom doors and obtained consent before providing any care.

People were treated as individuals. Their cultural and religious needs were respected. We saw staff initiating and engaging in lengthy conversations with people about the person’s interests. Staff supported people to talk about their feelings. People confirmed this and told us it was important that they trusted staff and felt able to discuss their worries and mental health needs.

Staff told us people took part in their own activities and enjoyed spending time together. They explained some people prepared meals or baked together and learnt about each other’s culture. Some people attended places of worship, and the staff supported them to access information to support with this when needed.

Everyone had a key member of staff who supported them to plan and review their care. One of the managers told us they had run sessions to help the staff understand about meaningful keywork support to help them provide good quality person-centred care. Comments from people included, “I have a keyworker, and I can talk to them, [they] are lovely” and “I get lonely sometimes, but I can talk to staff, and they listen.”

People were able to make choices and be in control of their lives. They told us they made decisions about how they spent their time. People took part in social groups and leisure activities in the community. Staff had supported people to learn about and access different educational courses and groups with others who had shared interests. There was an activities room at the service. Staff supported people to take part in a range of different activities, including arts, crafts and music, along with friends and peers from other services who visited them. Comments from people included, “I listen to music and go to the activities room” and “I have lots of choice.”

Staff supported people to develop their independence and skills. Some people were learning to use computers and the internet safely. Staff explained they supported people to plan, shop for and prepare meals. They involved them in discussions around healthy lifestyles. A staff member told us, “We help [person] to use the shops. We encourage [them] to take the lead and make choices.”

Staff responded to people’s immediate needs. We saw that when people became upset or distressed, staff supported them in a calm and helpful way. People told us staff were available when they needed them.

The provider had systems to enable staff wellbeing. Staff told us they were supported and enjoyed working at the service. They explained there was good teamwork. Their comments included, “If we feel like we need more training, managers book this for us and guide us”, “We can speak up in staff forums and raise any issues we want”, “I enjoy working here and we support one another.” Managers facilitated regular meetings for individuals and groups of staff. Staff took part in appraisals of their work. The provider supported staff to take on lead roles and specialise in different parts of the service. They had promoted staff and given them opportunities to learn new skills.