Bethany 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 changed to requires improvement. This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.

The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to person-centred care.

This service scored 60 (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 kind and caring interactions during our site visits. Staff were warm, friendly and welcoming. One relative told us, “[Person] is always in a positive mood which echoes the positive interactions they have with staff."

The provider did not always make sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s individual needs and preferences. They did not always take account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

People did not have meaningful goals in place that they were working towards. People’s dreams and aspirations were not incorporated into support plans and staff did not know what people would like to strive towards. People’s likes and dislikes were recorded but not always fully incorporated into their support plans to ensure people were leading as fulfilling a life as possible.

The provider did not always promote people’s independence, so people did not always have full choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Plans were not in place to develop people’s skills and increase their independence. Most staff were unable to give examples of how they were trying to support and encourage people to be as independent as possible. One staff member told us, “Not all staff encourage independence. [Person] can fold their own clothes, but staff will do this for them.” Some people’s independence had deteriorated, and there were no clear plans in place to try and address this. For example, one person used to access the kitchen and make their own drinks, but staff now did this for them.

The provider had not always given staff clear guidance to ensure they fully understood how to respond to people’s needs in the moment or how to act consistently to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. However, staff were able to explain and recognise how people were presenting and what needs they may be communicating. Staff recognised when people needed medical treatment and sought this appropriately. One professional told us, “Staff have in the past been quick to respond to anything they felt unable to manage, they have made the right decisions by contacting us or the emergency services."

The provider cared about and generally promoted the wellbeing of their staff. Most staff told us they felt supported at work and that they were able to take breaks which supported their wellbeing.

The provider had identified staff did not always feel comfortable speaking up. The performance director had written to staff with reassurances and arranged ‘Feeling Safe to Speak Up’ sessions where staff could attend and speak with directors of the service. Staff feedback from these sessions was positive.