Cassandra 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. The last time this was assessed 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.

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. People received care and support in a kind and respectful manner. People told us, "The staff are smashing!" and "The staff are brilliant. I am comfortable here." People appeared settled in the environment and we observed positive interactions between staff and people throughout the assessment.

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. Staff knew people and their needs well. Care plans did not always include people's life histories, so the provider had missed opportunities to provide staff with meaningful information about people. However, staff were proactive and engaged with people positively to find out what was important to them. People could pursue their interests and were supported to visit local attractions. Staff were supportive when there were changes to family situations; A relative told us, "Staff were fantastic - they really looked after [Name]".

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 encouraged to remain independent and given choice and control over their care. Relatives told us their loved one was able to make decisions about their care, and that if they said they did not want to do something, the staff listened. People's rooms were personalised with their own furniture and possessions to make them feel at home in the service. People were able to choose where they wished to spend their time throughout the day. During the assessment we identified some restrictions in relation to visiting at the service. This posed a risk to people becoming isolated from their friends and family. The registered manager had planned to discuss this at a meeting with people and their families and told us that restrictions around visiting had been removed and that the policy would be updated.

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. Staff were responsive in identifying where people needed assistance or reassurance. During the assessment call bells were answered in a timely manner, and we observed staff consistently checking on people in communal areas to prevent distress and ensure people had access to support if they needed it. We discussed with the provider about adding more detail in care plans on how staff should respond when people communicated distress through their behaviours.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. The registered manager was able to identify when staff morale was low and had created opportunities for staff wellbeing through team building and social events to improve this. Staff felt supported by the management team and systems and processes were in place to promote a positive workplace that delivered person-centred care.