Parkside Nursing Home Also known as Part of the abbey total care group ltd group of services

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 requires improvement. At this assessment, the rating has changed to good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 65 (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 ensured that people were always treated with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with professionalism and respect. Language used both towards people and in their care records was appropriate and respectful. People and their relatives told us, “There are excellent staff who are very kind and nice” and “There has been a significant improvement in [person’s] well- being and presentation since they have had been living at Parkside.” Staff could describe people they supported and tell us about people’s special interests and experiences prior to living at Parkside. They told us, “I live by believing in treating others as I would want to be treated, equally and by showing love and care.” A healthcare professional told us, “When I have been in the building I have observed staff interacting with residents and have found this to be kind when speaking to residents and visitors.” However, there were inconsistencies in the quality and depth of information included in some people’s personal histories and backgrounds. We raised this on the day and were told these inconsistencies were already recognised and were being addressed in conjunction with reviewing care plans as the new electronic record system became more embedded.

Staff at Parkside Nursing home 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. We saw in one person’s care plan how they liked to play the piano and we later observed this person playing to people in the communal space. We saw a noticeboard which showed pictures of people celebrating their birthdays with family and friends. Staff knew people well and could tell us about people's individual needs. We saw they were attentive to people’s needs and responded to their requests for support in a timely manner.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Records we reviewed contained information about how staff should promote and support people’s independence. This included their preferred way of communicating as well as how to support people with their physical and health needs. People told us they were involved with decisions about their care, such as what time they wished to go to bed and get up in the morning. We saw people were offered choices, such as, what to eat, drink and where and how they wanted to spend their time. In general, people spoke positively about activities within the home, “The entertainment lady always updates me on events and get-togethers,” another said, “There is a lot of creativity with some of the organised activities, and the singer who comes in is very good.” However, some people commented that activities varied from day to day and they would prefer more stimulating activities, “than throwing a balloon around.” People and their relatives appeared to enjoy the outdoor space and explained to us about the on-going development. They said they actively participated in gardening and their ability to get involved had increased since the manager arranged for an outdoor tap to be fitted. This meant they no longer needed staff support to water the courtyard plants. Staff understood people’s individual needs well and how they wished to be supported day to day and said, “I encourage people to walk if it’s safe for them to do so and ask they want to come into the garden. There are some people who just need to walk and walk around the home, so we respect that.” Another told us, “There are certain clients who like to wash themselves or walk a little bit, I just encourage them to do as much as they can; as long as it is in their care plan.

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. A relative told us how staff helped their family member become used to being in a transfer hoist, which they now referred to as ‘flying’ and meant they could be assisted more quickly. We observed staff responded quickly to people and provided reassurance appropriately. We also observed they responded to call bells in a timely way, which was confirmed when we reviewed the provider’s regular the call bell analysis.

The provider cared about and promoted the well-being of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff we spoke with told us they enjoyed their jobs and felt supported both professionally and personally by the management team on site. Staff told us, ‘Managers are supportive, their door is always open’ and "I think the management are very fair and I would speak to them about anything."