Thames House

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 inspection we rated this key question good. At this inspection we rated 1 quality statement, and 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.

We did not look at Kindness, compassion and dignity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Treating people as individuals during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Independence, choice and control during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Responding to people’s immediate needs during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

Prior to the inspection, we had received negative feedback from staff regarding their experiences of working at the service. We found the provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff; they ensured there were incentives for staff to complete their roles well, for example, employees were nominated by fellow workers for employee of the month.

Staff had access to the provider’s employee assistance programme which included counselling and debt management advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Posters with details of the programme were displayed on staff notice boards.

Staff told us they felt valued; their wellbeing was supported, and their workload was manageable. One staff member told us, “The manager is available at night, and will give advice, for example, if we are unexpectedly short staffed.”

The manager told us they were mindful of following a ‘just culture’ approach, which the provider was promoting, to ensure staff felt empowered to speak up and challenge. The manager told us, “The main priority is to embed excellent care; we have good outcomes for people, but we have had whistleblowing, and it’s up to us to deal with that and recognise it, as this is the resident’s home. Our priority is to stabilise the nursing team. We are trusted when taking people in care and family members are involved; it is a collective effort.”

A staff member told us, “We work as one big team, but sometimes staff can bicker, and it is important we get on with what we are doing; it’s about making sure staff dynamics are settled as well.” A person commented, “Staff have a good knowledge of my needs and there is humour here; I think staff are doing a great job, of course they are, and I am happy here.”

Staff felt they were listened to when they raised any suggestions or concerns; staff meetings, head of department meetings and nurses’ meetings took place. Staff who we spoke with or who responded to the questionnaires we sent out; told us they felt safe at work and measures had been implemented to reduce risks associated with female staff members. One staff member told us, “[Manager and clinical nurse manager names] doors are always open, and the manager comes in at weekends and is always on call at weekend.”

Staff were encouraged to speak up and had opportunities to raise any issues in supervision meetings and staff meetings. One staff member commented, [via written questionnaire] ‘A staff meeting is conducted every day at 11 am; nurses can raise any concerns.’

There was a dedicated staff room with drink making and food storage facilities and we observed staff using this room during the inspection. Contact details for the regional director of operations were posted around the service so anyone could contact them directly if they had any concerns.