Heyberry 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.

People were supported by staff who knew them well. We observed staff assisting people in a caring and respectful manner. For example, when assisting people to take their medicines, to eat and drink, or transfer using moving and handling equipment. Staff did not rush and we also observed some lovely conversations when staff sat with people and demonstrated a genuine interest in their wellbeing. These gestures were returned with demonstrations of affection from people who lived in Heyberry House.

People spoke fondly about the kindness of staff and about the care they received. Comments included, “[Staff] are all very kind,” “Staff are great, they help me and are kind to me,” “I can’t remember how long I’ve been here but it’s excellent. The [Staff] are the best and I can’t fault them. They do things for me and it’s never a bother. They treat me with respect” and “The [Staff] are very nice and very kind with me and they’re polite.”

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.

People’s care plans were designed around their needs and were regularly reviewed and monitored. Religious beliefs were known and opportunities were available for people to practice their faith. Events were arranged to provide people with an insight and to enable people to experience aspects of different cultures through food, music and other celebration events.

Staff respected people’s decisions within the service. For example, where people chose to eat their meals or how they chose to spend their time.

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 supported to maintain and develop important relationships and there were no restrictions on people receiving visitors. A family member said, “I’m always made to feel welcome here.”

Staff encouraged people to make day to day choices and do as much as they could for themselves to maintain as much independence as possible. People were also encouraged to get involved in activities and events which enabled people to pursue and maintain hobbies and interests, for example, a gardening club and baking competitions. One family member told us they appreciated staff regularly sat with people to read newspapers and have discussions about current affairs.

Other leisure activities were available, and we observed singers and community groups attending the home providing varied entertainment. Comments from people were positive and included, “We do things and we sing and we dance,” “Sometimes like today there’s things going on and I join in and it’s good,” “They have a lot of people coming in doing exercises with us, which I suppose is good for us and I join in if I can and we do have a laugh” and “There is some entertainment which is always good, we have singing and things which we love. We can go outside in the lovely garden if we want to. It’s all just beautiful.”

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.

Throughout our assessment staff were always present in communal areas and attentive to people’s requests for care. We observed a staff member quickly respond to one person who had become upset and offered appropriate reassurances.

People confirmed they could call for assistance when they needed and told us staff would generally respond quickly. One person said, “If you ask for help, they always help you.”

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 systems to reward and recognise staff which included a monthly colleague award. Staff also had access to employee benefits and assistance schemes.