Sidney Avenue Lodge Residential Care 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 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 told us they liked living at Sidney Avenue and felt staff were kind and caring. One person said, “The staff are really friendly, and I do like it here, they are all caring.” One person smiled widely when a member of staff entered the room and said, “Are you going to look after me today? I love you!”

Throughout the assessment we observed many kind and caring interactions with people and staff. One person had an appointment that day which they were anxious about. We observed staff talking gently with the person explaining what the appointment was for and reassuring them throughout the morning.

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.

There were people of various cultures living at the home. The majority of staff employed were multilingual and spoke several languages. We observed staff talking with people in their preferred language. This meant people were able to express themselves and their needs in an effective way.

People were treated as individuals. Staff knew people well and understood their daily routines, likes and dislikes and what they wanted their care to look like. A visiting healthcare professional said staff were, “Very good at giving [Person] choice and making sure he is doing what he wants to do.”

People, and those important to them, took part in making decisions and planning of their care.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People felt listened to and valued by staff. People were given time to listen, process information and respond to staff and other professionals. Staff supported people to express their views using their preferred method of communication.

People were enabled to make choices for themselves and staff ensured they had the information they needed to do so.For example, one person wanted to go shopping and staff discussed with the person what they wanted to buy, where could be the best place and what type of transport they wanted to use. Staff respected people’s choices and wherever possible, accommodated their wishes.

Staff supported people to maintain links with those that are important to them. Staff understood the importance of supporting people to maintain contact with family and friends. Relatives we spoke with told us the service actively encouraged people to stay in contact, and they always felt welcome when visiting the home.

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 knew people well and recognised if there were any changes in a person’s physical health or mental health. They were also able to understand behaviours that could mean a person was feeling unwell. Staff knew how to refer any healthcare concerns quickly and ensure people were supported to access appropriate care and support. We observed a person who had an appointment that day and saw staff gently reassuring the person throughout the morning.

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

The home had a small staff team, many of which had been working at the service for a number of years. Staff told us they felt supported by the registered manager and felt they could discuss concerns with them at any time.