Winslow 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 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 70 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. People who we spoke with told us they were well cared for. One person told us, “Staff treat me very well. They respect me. I feel safe among the staff.” A relative told us, “The nice thing is that she is happy and she loves the cares.” One staff member said, “Have a good rapport with the residents. I like to find time to chat with the residents to get an understanding of how they are feeling and raise things. Talk to family as well, management door always open to raise concerns.”

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 well and told us how people liked to be supported. People’s bedrooms were individualised, containing photos and personal possessions. People told us staff supported their spiritual, religious and cultural beliefs. One person said, “We have Communion once a month. When I was living at home, I was very involved with the church community so it is really important to be able to carry on.” Some care plans we reviewed demonstrated how staff supported a person to maintain their religious beliefs.

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

People had choice over what they did during the day, many of the people who lived at the service enjoyed being amongst others and partaking in group activities. Some people were supported to go into town or to the local garden centre. We observed activities for people they had been involved in choosing. For example, we observed people and some relatives enjoying afternoon tea. Some people did not want to be part of group activities and this was respected. The provider sought outside input from a local charity to support with other options for people who did not want to be part of the home activities. Staff told us they worked with people to provide inclusive support. One staff member said, “Share activity schedule with the residents, monthly schedule in their rooms and discussions at the residents meeting. We have musicians, including sing along, saxophonists, and try and incorporate different types of musicians. We have animal therapy and visits from local groups.”

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 and managers knew people well and responded quickly to any requests for support during our assessment. However, feedback from some people and their relatives told us at certain times of the day and night people were left waiting for support with personal care and getting to the toilet. One person told us, “There are not enough staff here, especially nights. If you need the toilet it takes a long time to get to you, one thing I don’t like.” Some staff said it could be difficult at times to respond to people’s needs. A staff member told us, “Hard to find time to chat with residents one on one.”

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff.The provider supported staff with their work life balance and provided shifts to accommodate this. The service was in the process of buying in an employee welfare service to help support staff. One staff member told us, “Feel the management are great and can raise anything with them. Really supportive of everyone.” Some staff told us it was more difficult to provide person centred care when they were short staffed at the service. “Know needing more carers has been flagged, nearly at capacity with residents so it is noticeable.”