Elliott 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.

We inspected this key question in November 2018 and rated it good. At this assessment the rating has remained the same.

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 treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. We observed overall that people had kind and caring relationships with staff and had a good understanding of people’s preferences and wishes. We observed positive interactions between staff and people living at the service, these included a staff member playing football with a person, then a further 3 people joining in. There was lots of laughter, everyone was relaxed and there was no time limitations. We observed another staff member and person sitting together on a garden swing seat, laughing and chatting together.

People’s relatives told us, “There is not a bad word I can say about them [staff], they are all good.” “Staff treat all the clients with a good understanding [of their needs].” “[name] gets the care they need.” The registered manager was present and worked alongside the staff team and was able to see how people are cared for.

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 dietary requirements in relation to their protected characteristics were understood, met and respected. People’s communication needs were understood and met. Staff were observed to have a good understanding of how people communicated, including their non-verbal communication. People had visual communication aids where required, to support them, such as pictorial information, to aid their understanding.

The provider promoted people's independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their care, treatment and wellbeing. People were supported to maintain their relationships with their families. Families told us that they felt their loved one’s had choice and control over their lives. For example, one relative told us “If [name] doesn’t want to do something, then they will tell you. [Name] likes to go to London on the train even if it’s just for a coffee at Embankment. [Name] does this frequently.” [Name] is fully dependent, but has a good life and they will take [name] shopping etc. If [name] doesn’t want to go, then [name] doesn’t have to.” We saw people were consulted by staff about their choices, in relation to how they wanted to spend their time, the activities they wished to participate in, what they wanted to eat and where they wanted to go. Service user meetings evidenced involvement in choices made by people including trips, activities, holiday’s, home décor and menu choice. Although blanket restrictions were in place, people were supported by staff to access their home, community and people who were important to them, this helped minimise the impact on people’s independence, choice and control.

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. Overall, we observed staff respond to people’s needs in the moment and act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. Staff understood people’s verbal and non-verbal communications well and understood the signs which indicated a change in people’s moods, such as body language, gestures and communicating through the use of Makaton . Where relevant, people had a positive behaviour support plan (PBS), which detailed triggers, signs and signals of behaviours and how to support people with these emotions. There was a 24hr on-call service available for staff support. This helped to ensure there was additional support in place for staff in the event of an emergency or incident.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff told us that they felt supported and valued in their role. The registered manager worked regularly with the staff team. The service had an employee of the month scheme, which recognised staff’s achievement and good practice.