Overslade 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 70 (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 aimed to always treat people and colleagues from other organisations with kindness, empathy and compassion but some people’s privacy and dignity was not always maintained.

Staff aimed to maintain people’s dignity. For example, staff knew people wanted to change their clothes after any spills and supported them to do this. Staff were discreet when supporting people away from the lounge for personal care. However, when discussing toileting procedures with staff to support people’s needs, we identified this process was not always managed in a dignified way and people confirmed this. Toileting slings were not always being used. This meant people’s dignity was compromised including when they were assisted by staff.

We saw staff were gentle in their approach and interacted with the people they cared for. People smiled when staff approached them and wanted to chat. Staff gave us examples of acts of kindness they had undertaken to support people. For example, purchasing cards for people to send to family members. This helped people to maintain relationships which were important to them.

People spoke positively of the staff. One person told us, “The staff are amazing they’re very good. They are kind and caring, but they have no time to talk to me.” Another said, “I think the care I get is good. The majority of the staff are kind. They pop into my room to see if I’m okay.” A relative told us, “The staff are always kind, and I see them being kind to everybody.”

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.

Staff knew people well and understood how individual people wished to be supported and reassured. A staff member explained as well as checking their records to check people’s preferences and what was important to them, they also sought knowledge from people’s families, so they could be assured they were providing care in accordance with peoples wishes. Arrangements were in place for people to keep in contact with families. One person told us, “I feel well today, I’m looking forward to seeing my family this afternoon.” The manager told us people could have access to electronic devices such as tablets at the home to keep in touch with families who were unable to visit.

People’s care plan records captured people’s interests and preferences to support staff in meeting their needs. Relatives felt the staff knew their family members well and supported their individual needs. One told us, “The staff here are very well trained. They’re good with mum and the other people here. I think they’re very well trained and know how to deal with people with dementia.” A range of activities were provided at the home to support people’s preferences. This were held on different units in the home and people were asked if they wished to attend. One person told us, “I do join in with the activities I particularly like activities that involve numbers. I like using my brain; I enjoy doing quizzes.”

The manager told us that the dementia unit had been refurbished and there were plans as part of the refurbishment to increase sensory activities into the dementia unit including rummage boxes and wall coverings that people may enjoy.

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

People recognised they were not always able to be as independent as they would wish due to their health conditions. People therefore appreciated staff support to help them retain their independence where this was possible. For example, some people used walking aids to help them independently move around the home and people decided where they wished to spend their time. At lunchtime people were seen using adapted cups so they could drink safely and independently.

Staff gave us examples showing how they encouraged people to make their own day to day decisions about their care. This included what they wanted to wear, and what interesting things they would like to do. One staff member explained how they supported people to make choices by offering them a small number of clothing items to choose from. This helped the person to feel less anxious when making their choices. The staff member said, “It’s so they can look how they want, to look themselves.”

A staff member who provided social activities in the home told us how they supported people with activities in their rooms. This included hand massages. People had opportunities sing hymns twice a week, and activities based on tv show games that people enjoyed. Staff said some people liked to listen to music and watch television and we saw some people in the dementia unit were content with this.

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff aimed to respond to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

People felt staff were usually responsive to their needs. Some people said staff were at times too busy and they had to wait for support. One person said, “It’s been a big change living here as I was always busy and active before, there’s a lot of waiting around.” Despite this people’s basic needs were met. One person told us, “I use my call bell if I need some help or want to ask anything, they do respond quickly.” Another person told us how they found their wheelchair was uncomfortable and staff had made arrangements for this to be reviewed with the aim to get a replacement wheelchair. Where people wished for assistance to move, or wanted a snack, staff responded promptly. Staff also offered to retrieve items important to people that they had left somewhere. When people became anxious or needed support to manage their comfort, staff responded to this. One staff member told us, “You need to find the cause of people’s anxiety. Is it noise? Do you need to take them to a quieter area? Are they in pain?” People told us when they wanted to see a doctor, staff ensured this was arranged. Comments included, “If I wanted to speak to a doctor, I would ask one of the carers. The doctor has come out to me” and “I see a doctor here and an optician. They’re both very good the doctor pops in from time to time to make sure that I’m okay. I feel like I’m looked after very well.”

The manager told us staff should be present in lounges when people were using them, this was so staff could respond to people’s needs as required. We saw care staff were not present on 1 occasion, and a person was edging forward on their chair with the potential for them to fall. A member of housekeeping staff noted this and alerted care staff who addressed this immediately. Care staff confirmed there was an expectation for them to be in lounges if they were occupied. One staff member said, “It should be (supervised), we are only absent for a short period of time.” They gave an example of taking a drink to a room in the immediate vicinity.

People and relatives told us if they raised concerns, their issues were listened to and acted upon. One person told us a concern they had raised was, “resolved quickly”. A relative gave an example of when their family member needed immediate support with personal care, staff suggested they do this at a later time, when it was clear to them the person needed prompt support. On request of the relative this was addressed.

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

Staff enjoyed working at the home and spoke positively of the support the management team provided. Comments included,

“This is a good place to work. The manager is truly lovely. They are so supportive and always there if you need her,” and, “We all pull together and help each other and that includes the managers.” Care staff felt they could approach nurses for advice when needed and felt supported. Nurses told us they were treated well.

The manager told us they regularly walked around the home to observe staff and check if there were any issues they needed to act on. They told us staff felt able to approach them if they needed any support. They said, “The staff know me well enough and will come to me and discuss, if there are any problems they will come to me.”

Regular staff meetings took place including daily ‘stand up’ meetings where staff could share information of importance and any issues they felt may need to be actioned. Staff also had supervision meetings with their manager where they could discuss anything that was impacting on their work. One staff member told us they had been supported well by management staff when they had suffered a bereavement. They said, “The support from all here was amazing. It’s like a family here.”