Archived: Alston View Nursing and 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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 65 (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.

People spoke highly about the staff. A person said, “The girls really look after me. They are very kind and good fun.” Another person said, “I love the staff they look after me all the time.” A third person said, “The staff are very kind and thoughtful but don't have the time to stay and chat. I am lonely sometimes.” A relative told us, “I have always found the staff to be kind and caring towards [my relative].”

We observed staff talking to people in a respectful way and had encouraging and caring interactions, which had a positive effect on people.

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and

treatment met people’s needs and preferences.

Staff took account of personal, cultural, social and religious needs, and this was considered in people’s care plans. Staff supported people to communicate and understood people’s own ways of sharing information about their likes and dislikes. A relative said, “The staff here do their very best and are very patient with [person]. [Person] can be very challenging to know how to care for well.”

People were asked for feedback about their care and had opportunities to shape how wider care was delivered, for example around food choices.

The provider did not always promote people’s independence, so people did not always know their rights and have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

There was a lack of activities and limited access to the community. People were not always supported to be independent or be able to make choices about how they would like to spend their time, unless families supported this.

The provider did not always listen to and understand people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff did not always respond to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff knew what to do to help minimise people’s distress, however we observed that it was a challenge for staff to respond in a timely manner or to recognise signs before they escalated, due to other pressures.

Although staff were very respectful to people and tried their best to make sure people’s needs and preferences were met, it was hard for them to do this fully due to other challenges. We were told by different people and observed in the daily notes that not all care tasks were completed on time. For example, a relative told us, “I came to visit [my relative] at 4pm and they were still waiting for a shower. I think there is time pressure in the mornings.” Another relative said, “The staff I have met are kind to [my relative] but I think sometimes they don't have the time to give good and appropriate care.” A staff member told us, “Often staff can neglect pad changes, people are left in the lounge and pads are not changed. I have seen sore skin as a result.”

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

There was a staff wellbeing policy and staff told us they felt supported by the manager. The provider encouraged open communication for all staff members and supported their ideas and suggestions. Staff were recognised and awarded for good practice and a positive working environment. Staff told us they were proud to work for the service, and morale was beginning to improve following recent changes at management level.