Arbour Court

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 treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People and families spoke highly of how they were treated. One relative comment, “I like how the staff are with us, they create a very friendly atmosphere.” We observed staff were caring and spoke kindly and respectfully to people. Care plans reflected how people’s privacy and dignity should be promoted and families said this was followed. People and families told us staff would knock before coming to into the bedroom, although we observed some occasions where this was not the case.

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 had a good understanding of people’s individual needs. However, records did not always reflect how individualised care was being given and care plans were not always personalised. The activity and wellbeing team had a good overview of people’s life stories and supported people and families to complete an ‘about me’ booklet to support staff to reminisce with people, and help build meaningful relationships. People were encouraged to engage in resident’s meetings and talk about activities and hobbies they wished to participate in. The activity team had several positive examples of how they had met people’s specific wishes and needs, which included a retirement party for one person, and a Spanish theme day for another person.

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

People were happy with how they were supported by staff and the care they received. Care records generally reflected how people should be encouraged to remain as independent as possible and people were free to spend time and walk around the home as much as they liked. However, people were fully reliant on staff to provide drinks to them. People were supported to makes choices where they could, about what they ate and drank, and if they wished to engage in activities.

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.

People and families felt staff were very responsive and quick to take action where this was needed. We noted that whilst staff had a very good understanding of people’s needs and how to support them, this was not always evident on the days we visited. For example, we did not observe staff encouraging people who liked to walk around the unit to take breaks by providing activities to encourage the person rest and refuel with food and drink, although registered manager told us this was how they supported people who were continually on the move.

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

The provider had a staff benefit scheme called ‘we care’, where staff could access a range of support, including with any personal issues they might have. The registered manager made gestures of thanks to staff, including bringing in treats. Feedback from staff was positive, with staff telling us they felt valued and supported. Staff surveys indicated positive results with one comment stating, “I enjoy my job, it’s rewarding, I work in a nice environment.”

Staff had ‘conversation clouds’ where they shared key information and interest about themselves. Staff generally appeared to work well together, although we noted some teams of staff worked more effectively than others.