Dean 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 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 some lovely staff interactions with people during the course of this inspection. A staff member said, “I always ask for people’s consent before doing anything and try and treat them with dignity and respect. If I was to go into a resident in the morning, I ask them if they want to get washed and dressed and when they want their breakfast. I always use a towel over their lap when washing them, things like that. It makes people feel dignified, that’s what I would want if I were them.”

People were cared for by staff who knew them well; staff were kind and patient in their approach and sensitive to people’s needs. People and their relatives spoke highly of the staff at Dean House. One person said, “They’re very nice. There’s a few I like very much. They all help me.” Conversations we had with people and their relatives were all positive when we asked them about the staff and management of the home.

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care and support met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

People’s spiritual, cultural and diverse needs were catered for. The manager told us they were trying to see if they could have a representative of the church come to visit the home to meet people. Some people attended a local church coffee morning on a Wednesday. People’s preferences, including gender preferences for personal care, were respected and promoted. A relative commented, “Staff are very kind and compassionate.”

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

We asked people whether the staff encouraged them with their independence. One person said, “I do most things myself, but the carers help if I need anything.” A relative told us, “I think staff enjoy she’s so independent. She looked after herself when she was at home.”

A range of activities were available for people if they chose to participate. On the day we visited the home, an activities co-ordinator was talking about TV themes and playing music; people had to guess the programme. People were engaged in the session and clearly enjoyed the occasion. An activities programme was organised for the month with involvement from external entertainers such as Irish dancers, pre-school children who visited and musical entertainment. One person said, “Oh yes, it’s very good. They have young children who come in and singers and ballroom dancing. I like the music.” People went out with their relatives or with staff on organised outings. There were no restrictions on people receiving family and friends. Residents’ meetings enabled people to choose what they would like to do, so staff could plan this in advance.

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.

In the main, people received prompt care and support when they needed it. We observed call bells appeared to be answered quickly by staff. One person said, “Staff are very busy and you can wait for them to come.” Others commented on the use of agency staff and the importance of staff knowing them well. Another person told us, “They have agency staff, some have been here before, they’re very good, but it’s comforting to have your own staff, staff who know you well.”

Whilst the home did not use any adapted technology, they were in the process of resourcing a falls detector smart switch. These are wearable devices designed to detect when a person sustains a fall and send an alert for assistance. People’s consent would be needed before this technology could be put into use.

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

Staff were encouraged to share any concerns with senior staff and the management team. A staff member told us, “Staff meetings are a good opportunity for staff to get together and we can share things, we have these every month.”

The home maintained a strong workforce and many staff had worked at the home for several years. The manager said, “I do regular supervisions and check-ins, back to work meetings if someone goes off sick. We have a lot of staff here who have been here a long time. If something is on their minds they will approach me and we can have a meeting.”