Langdale 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 changed to outstanding.

This meant people were truly respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service.

This service scored 100 (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 their privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People received care and support that was exceptionally compassionate and kind. All people and relatives we spoke with were full of praise for Langdale House and consistently told us that staff went above and beyond for their loved ones. One relative said, “My [relative] regards Langdale as home. The last thing [they] ever want is to be anywhere else. I wouldn’t change Langdale for the world and [they] are very happy there.”

Relatives told us people felt safe and cared for within the service and were treated with kindness and respect. One relative said, “I am happy with everything and have no concerns”. Another relative said, “[Name] is the happiest they have been, and the staff are so lovely.”

Staff supported and maintained relationships with relatives. Staff told us some relatives called daily for updates, and staff were open and transparent with information. One relative told us, “I think the staff are excellent and any concerns we had, were promptly dealt with.”

Staff told us generally people would go out with relatives on trips or days out but were also welcome in the service. Staff encouraged and supported people to visit their family. Relatives could access people’s rooms, communal areas and the service grounds. Staff told us relatives often built relationships with other people they weren’t related to.

The embedded culture of kindness and respect extended to colleagues from other organisations. Staff supported people to maintain relationships with people living at other services. Staff told us people had friends in other services and staff supported them to go out together and they were able to come and eat dinner at Langdale House. People also had access to events run by other local services.

Staff demonstrate genuine empathy for people. The provider collated compliments from people who accessed the service including professionals and relatives. A compliment was noted from a professional which stated, “People appeared happy and well cared for. Staff were competent, knowledgeable and polite in answering questions.”

The provider treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. The provider took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture, unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff use a variety of tools to communicate with people according to their needs. Staff found innovative and creative ways to communicate with each person. Staff went the extra mile to ensure people’s treatment met their needs and preferences. The service had a person whose first language was not English. The service recruited staff who could speak the language of the person and the management team ensured there was always a staff member on shift, day and night, who could speak in the person’s first language which supported their culture and background.

All bedrooms were highly personalised; no two bedrooms looked the same. People were able to personalise their bedrooms and were supported to have pets in their rooms. Each bedroom represented each individual as they had input in the decoration of their rooms. People continued to make changes to their rooms and were supported to regularly update their rooms based on their personal preferences.

Staff worked closely with occupational therapists to promote people’s independence as much as possible. For example, a person required support with their mobility. Staff worked with occupational therapists to come up with solutions to support them such as bed rails in their bedrooms and bathrooms, to promote their independence as much as possible in maintaining an independent daily life.

Staff formulated people’s care and treatment records during the transition period and updated them regularly. Staff liaised with previous placements, people, families and multi-disciplinary team members to include their view in the care plans. For example, we saw information about people’s care and treatment from previous placements within care plans.

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

Staff empowered people supporting them to make their own choices. Staff listened to and acted on choices and requests, supporting people to take positive risks. For example, a person with a physical health condition requested to go to a theme park. Staff consulted medical experts and completed risk assessments to support this. The person was then supported to attend several theme parks with other people. Staff told us “[Name] absolutely loved it.”

Professionals gave examples of how the service highlighted a person’s ability to create a safe an empowering environment which promoted independence and dignity. One person who experienced difficulties at a previous placement had made significant progress. The professional told us, “[Upon moving to Langdale House} the transformation was remarkable, [Name] now participates in simple domestic tasks such as preparing cereal, washing up, skills [they] never engaged with previously.”

Staff supported people in relation to sexuality and relationships. For example, staff identified a support need for people through working with the person. Staff were able to identify the person’s triggers and observed when people were distressed. Staff worked in partnership with the local teams to help people identify their sexuality and support them with information around this. Following this work, there were improvements in people’s communication. Staff supported people with keeping the information private and respecting their privacy, dignity and respected their views.

Staff always supported people to make their own choices throughout their daily lives and tailored choices to suit individual needs. For example, people were supported to choose their meals. Staff purchased mini cereal boxes and laid them out in the dining area to support the person to pick which cereal they wanted to eat and put together their own breakfast.

People were supported to have their say about things that were important. All people had access to community meetings which gave them opportunities to have a say about things that were important to them.

The provider was exceptional in how they 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.

Staff ensured people’s needs, views, wishes and comforts were their utmost priority. They went above and beyond to anticipate people’s needs and take steps to ensure preventable discomfort, concern or distress. Staff understood people and could identify when people were not themselves. For example, one person became unwell but could not verbalise this. Staff said the person was in pain and took appropriate action in getting the person seen by relevant professionals. Staff were persistent in identifying the problem, which prevented the person experiencing further harm. Staff said they understood the person from their body language and mannerisms enough to understand they were in pain, despite them not being able to verbalise this.

Staff gave clear examples of identifying and responding to people’s immediate needs. For example, staff talked about how some people would become withdrawn when they were struggling but would not always be able to voice this. Some people had unpredictable seizures, but staff gave us examples of how they would become aware of the seizures from people’s body language and presentation. For example, one person had seizures due to weather conditions, and this pattern was detected by staff. Staff were proactive in installing an air conditioning unit in the person’s room to prevent further seizures. Staff clearly knew how to tailor care to suit individual needs and knew how to minimise people’s distress.

Staff supported people with immediate needs. For example, staff supported people through grief and loss of a family member. People were supported to attend funerals, taking flowers. Grief counselling was also accessible to people where necessary. Staff gave examples of tailoring the support to suit the needs of the individual to support their mental health and wellbeing.

Technology such as call bells and sensors were used to keep people safe and help staff identify people who needed urgent help. Staff kept logs of responses and staff responded appropriately.

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

The provider focussed on positive cultures for staff which focussed on open communication, encouraging people’s independence and recognising good work. The service was driven by a culture which prioritised good wellbeing through inclusivity, active listening, and open conversations. This empowered staff to do their job well and to be well. Managers embedded the providers values within the service and showed a commitment to staff wellbeing. Managers were committed to create an atmosphere of respect and team working for staff to positively impact people’s care and treatment. The feedback from staff about the management team was inclusive and unanimous. One staff member told us, “It’s like a family here.” Another staff member said, “The staff treat them [people] like family.”

We saw evidence of staff wellbeing being the centre of their supervision records. Staff wellbeing was discussed as well as training, the providers values, developmental needs and competencies. Managers were supportive and empathetic of staff in their personal and work life. Managers also positively recognised staff performance and noted things they did well.

Staff described managers as, “Easy to approach and very understanding.” Another staff member told us, “You can tell them anything and you have support from them.”

There were established and proven support networks for staff to use if they were struggling, so they had support immediately and the impact on the care they delivered remained positive. Staff had access to a freedom to speak up guardian and a mental health first aider. These were supporting aids for staff to support them and their well-being. Posters were displayed in staff areas, which pictured staff members who took a lead in those roles. Staff told us they were encouraged to raise any concerns and were confident of the support from the management team.

Staff had access to relevant policies and procedures which supported their well-being. For example, the harassment and bullying policy which included information about staff support and discrimination in the workplace.