Chestnut Lodge

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 80 (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 was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

We observed multiple positive interactions between people and staff. People and relatives provided exceptional positive feedback about staff. A person told us staff were “caring and good natured”. A relative told us, “You couldn’t ask for better, more caring and considerate staff. The care is superb and we are really over and above being happy.” Comments from relatives included, “They appear to look after people in a dignified manner and are respectful.” Relatives also told us, “The staff are lovely and very caring. They understand people’s needs and create a warm homely atmosphere.” And, “Everyone is very welcoming to relatives and involve them in the care or anything that is going on.” Healthcare professionals told us that staff were approachable and welcoming. One healthcare professional told us that, “The residents always appear happy and well cared for.”

A staff member told us that a person had never had a birthday party before and management arranged one with balloons and a birthday tiara, which brough the person to tears. They also told us “we have a couple of residents who do not have family or friends, but them being at Chestnut Lodge means they do have a family, and the team treat them as such. One resident whose memory has long since faded away always lights up when management or one of the other staff members enters the room, it is like they remember them from before their memory faded, and that is something special to see”. A staff member also told us, “Working at chestnut lodge is such a rewarding job. Being able to know the residents the way that I do, I will always cherish this. Being a part of the residents’ life is amazing, and being able to assist them in the ways that I do, I will always be thankful 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.

There was a strong, visible person-centred culture. The service ensured that staff focused on building and maintaining open and honest relationships with people and their families, friends and other carers. People’s life histories, preferences, interests, aspirations and culture were recorded in their care plans. A person told us that there are activities “sometimes it's more than I'd like but that's the thing with the freedom, you do as much or as little as you want. I like the entertainment, the live singers and residents' birthdays are my favourite, they go all out so it's always a party. You can get as involved as you like or if you don't fancy it, they will pop to your room and check in on you”. A relative told us, “My relative is still able to get out and goes to church on a Sunday and lunch on a Thursday. Staff are supportive of this.”

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

Staff completed detailed daily notes of care provided, regular checks were recorded and confirmation equipment such as call bells were in place.

People were actively in control of their daily living. People told us that they could choose what they wanted to do. A person told us, “They are very good here, the staff will do what you need them to do.” A relative told us, “My relative is still quite independent, and staff recognise this. They encourage them to do as much as they can for themself but will help them if necessary.”

A staff member told us, “Giving the residents the means to continue living as independently as possible with support I believe makes their life better, knowing they have support if they want or need it is especially important to quite a few of our residents.”

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

A person told us “here, you get listened to and I feel heard”. People confirmed when they used their call bell, staff responses were prompt. A person described staff response as, “exceptionally quick if you press the bell”. Relatives told us staff know people well. Relatives told us how staff provide emotional support and encouragement. Comments from relatives included, “My relative has very changing moods and they seem to know how to keep them occupied or distract them if necessary.”

We found staff were responsive to presenting needs. We consistently saw the provider use body maps as a live, moving picture to monitor how people were healing, and then ensured all documentation reflected this including the use of pain management tools and PRN. Monitoring processes the provider used were very much interlinked to all aspects of preventing deterioration of health. For example, a person was discharged from hospital the day before our inspection, and the provider had competed a body map with a photograph from the surgery and staff had completed an update already. The care and support plans were reviewed and changed as people’s needs changed.

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

We found the provider completed pre-employment health questionnaires as part of the recruitment process. This meant they could complete risk assessments around health conditions to support staff to be safe at work. The provider told us they had been working with a healthcare professional, to support them to develop a policy and to meet with staff to support them back to work and to keep them safe and therefore the residents whilst doing so.

We found team meetings took place which gave staff an opportunity to provide feedback. For example, when the provider considered implementing an electronic medicine administration record (EMAR) system. They explained the options to staff asking for their feedback, as they would be using it. The provider implemented the EMAR system the staff chose.

A healthcare professional told us, “The residents are well cared for, and the staff never seem to be stressed or unhappy.” Staff all spoke about how they felt happy and supported by the management at Chestnut Lodge. Staff told us they did not have to wait for a supervision and that they could speak to management at any time. Staff told us supervision were regular they were able to speak to management about anything, and one staff member told us it was a time to be able to reflect. A staff member told us, “Chestnut Lodge is a small home which makes it easy to go to management at any time if something ever came up. I know I would not have to wait for a supervision to be able to talk to management. They would make the time to have a supervision or just talk, depending on the situation.”