Ballards Ash

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.

We observed staff working alongside people and providing support that was kind and caring. Care was provided at a relaxed pace and according to people’s care plans. Staff engaged with people effectively which enabled people to share their wishes and needs with staff.

People and relatives said staff were kind and caring. Comments from relatives included, “In general, the care is good and they [staff] are lovely people” and “I think the care is good and it is a lovely home. Overall, the staff are kind and friendly.” Whilst there had been some changes with staff, many staff had worked at the service for a long time. One relative said, “[Person] has a settled support team which has made a huge different to [their] wellbeing.”

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.

People’s care plans had information about their likes, dislikes and how they wanted to live their lives. Relatives said staff knew people’s routines and provided support to meet people’s needs. One relative said, “They [staff] know what [person] likes doing, they know [their] routine and they respect it.”

Staff gave us examples of the different types of care and support they provided. It was evident they knew people well. We observed staff using various communication methods to engage with people. This included people’s own versions of sign language. Staff knew and understood what people were trying to say which helped to reduce anxieties. One relative said, “[Person’s] communication can be tricky, but [their] key workers understand [person] well. Staff encouragement has led to [person] using new words and short phrases.”

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

Staff aimed to promote people’s independence as much as possible. People were encouraged to be involved in activities of daily living and had opportunity and support to make choices day to day.

Some people had families living locally which enabled people to have social overnight visits away from the service. Family members were also welcomed to visit at any time.

People’s care records demonstrated they were involved in a variety of activities. The provider organised for a music therapist and massage therapist to visit regularly which people said they enjoyed.

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.

The service had a call bell system which we observed was rarely used. On the occasions the call bell rang, staff responded immediately. Staff were observed to be attentive and pro-active in responding to people’s requests for support or early signs of distress.

The provider had a positive behaviour support team who were regular visitors and provided staff with guidance and support on how to best support people when experiencing increased anxieties.

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

The provider had systems to support staff with wellbeing. There was a wellbeing helpline which was free for staff to ring and completely confidential. Staff could access various benefits if they wished including flexible working requests and reasonable adjustments. Leaders said they had to balance staff requests with making sure rotas were suitably staffed to provide safe care.

The provider shared some money with leaders to buy thank you gifts for staff. However, staff said they had not seen any items bought to thank them for their work. We shared this feedback with leaders.