Hazelwood 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 service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity, and respect. We rated this key question Good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care. People were seen as individuals and were treated with dignity and respect. Patient care was person-centred and tailored to meet individual needs. They were encouraged and supported to be involved in their care and treatment planning. Resources and equipment were available to allow the service to respond promptly to the needs of the patients. Patients told us the staff were caring, and compassionate. Staff were visible and available to patients, supporting them to maintain, and build upon their independence, promoting choice and control. Patients received good quality care and support. Staff had regular breaks and rest periods which allowed them to perform their roles in a safe, caring, and effective way.

This service scored 85 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Throughout our assessment, we found staff treated patients with kindness, compassion, dignity, and respect. Patients spoke positively about their relationships with staff. One patient told us, “I have been in lots of other hospitals, at Hazelwood I know they’re there for me and care about me, they’re really great.”

Staff built therapeutic relationships with patients built on trust, compassion, and understanding. They demonstrated good knowledge of each individual patients' needs, preferences, and personal histories. Staff remained attentive. listened actively and communicated in ways patients could understand. Staff provided reassurance, encouragement, and emotional support when required.

One family member told us “My son has had a terrible journey until he got to Hazelwood House, the hospital and staff are amazing. My son will need support for the rest of his life, if I had my way, he’d stay where he is forever.”

Throughout our assessment, we observed that staff consistently maintained patients’ privacy and dignity. The service fostered a culture of kindness, compassion, dignity, and respect which ensured staff always demonstrated a caring approach.

Staff treated patients as individuals, and provided care, support, and treatment tailored to meet each person’s unique needs and preferences. Patients told us they felt included and listened to. One patient told us, “It’s very good here, the staff and even the managers actually treat me as an individual and took the time to get to know me.”

Care plans reflected personal, cultural, religious, and social needs. Staff considered patients’ backgrounds, beliefs, and protected characteristics when delivering care.

The service effectively met individual communication needs. Information was available in different formats to support varying needs. Staff adapted their approach and used communication resources to ensure patients not only engaged in decisions about their care but also had meaningful conversation about who they were, and what they liked. One patient told us “I’m not so good at reading, and filling in forms, all the staff help me to understand things, and the patient lead helps me to do the forms.”

Staff regarded the religious, and cultural needs of their patients as a priority, the service had a multi-faith room which ensured religious, and cultural needs were met. The service also escorted patients to specific places of worship in the community, again meeting the patient’s individual religious, and cultural needs.

The service also met dietary needs and preferences. Religious, and cultural meals were provided upon request, and other dietary requirements such as vegetarian meals, were consistently accommodated.

Staff empowered and supported patients to have as much choice and control over their care and treatment as possible. They involved patients in decisions always considering their capacity and legal status and supported patients to ensure they understood their rights.

Staff helped patients maintain important relationships and stay connected to their communities. The service organised family and carer drop-in sessions, where loved ones and carers could visit, speak with nursing staff, therapists, and access information and support. Staff encouraged and facilitated visits and leave, ensuring patients stayed connected with family and friends. One patient told us, “Staff support me to stay in touch with my family, they help me to arrange visits and have leave with my family, it’s important to me.”

Patients took part in a range of meaningful activities based on their choices and abilities. These included physical activities, for example, walking and cycling, gardening/horticulture, and sessions in the onsite gym. The service also provided community facing activities, for example, ice skating, farm park trips, and outings to festive markets. Patients also had the opportunity to engage, and work with people in the local community on volunteer projects.

The service promoted a Real Work Opportunities initiative (RWO). Patients were supported to engage in the process of applying for positions of paid work within the service, for example, housekeeping, and maintenance. Staff assisted patients in preparing a CV, completing applications, and attending interviews. The successful candidate received regular supervision whilst in the role. RWO empowered personal independence and built upon existing real-life skills in preparation for patients rejoining their communities.

The service collaborated with a local education provider to support independence and learning. Courses included English, Mathematics, budgeting, and functional skills. Activities were adapted to each patient’s individual needs, preferences, and capabilities.

Staff supported patients’ physical health alongside their mental health. When needs were identified and assessed, the service provided specialist and adaptive equipment such as mobility aids to patients who needed them. Accessible bathrooms were available throughout the service to support patients’ independence.

Staff responded quickly, and effectively identified need, concern, or distress. They were alert, vigilant, and recognised changes in presentation or the dynamics of the environment. Staff responded promptly to mitigate risk and to maintain the wellbeing of patients. Patients were confident in approaching staff with any issues or concerns and did so freely knowing they would be listened to and supported. One patient told us “The staff are lovely, and they listen. I feel happy to go to staff if I need to.”

The service, and its staff used numerous forms of communication to help patients to express themselves and seek support whenever required. The service also had a strong working relationship with advocacy services, with an advocate attending site on a regular basis to support patients and their families to communicate their needs.

Staff built meaningful and trusting relationships with patients which helped them anticipate needs and provide proactive rather than reactive support. Throughout the assessment staff responded quickly and effectively to the needs of patients. When the ward alarms sounded, staff reacted promptly to identify the patient’s needs, and additional staff arrived quickly to provide support. Staff used effective de-escalation techniques to reduce the need for physical intervention if a decline in mental wellbeing was identified, patients became distressed, or if emotions became heightened.

Leaders promoted staff wellbeing to ensure the delivery of safe, and effective person-centred care. They encouraged regular breaks and fostered a culture where staff felt valued, supported, and able to speak openly. Staff described leaders as available, and approachable. One staff member told us, “I know that I can go to any of the managers if I need to, and I’ll always receive the support I need. It really is like having a second family, and it’s a great place to work.”

Leaders promoted staff recognition, with the service having a monthly colleague appreciation initiative. Each staff member voted anonymously for a colleague who they felt had gone “above and beyond” in carrying out their role. Patients also voted in their community meetings for their staff star; this was in recognition of the support patients had received from staff members. One staff member told us "We have an appreciation board for staff; we vote for the member of staff that has stood out that month. Patients also vote in the community meeting for their staff star of the week."

Staff were encouraged to seek support whenever they needed to and had access to a wide range of wellbeing resources. The service provided 24/7 staff support through its online employment assistance programme (EAP). Staff at all levels could access counselling services, psychology services, and menopause support. Staff also received support from the services wellbeing team, human resource team (HR), Freedom to Speak Up service (FTSU) and the occupational health team if required.

The service had made reasonable adjustments for staff who had family, caring, and social commitments which promoted a healthy work-life balance. Reasonable adjustments had also been made for staff to ensure they could meet their cultural and religious needs. Staff prided themselves on the quality of care they provided and appreciated the colleagues they worked with. They also appreciated the flexibility, understanding and support shown by the management team.

Staff were confident to raise any issues and give feedback without concern. Leaders responded quickly to any feedback given to them, and any concerns that were raised. This promoted a culture of inclusivity, openness, and shared ownership. Staff appraisals included performance reviews, and future goal setting, career development discussions took place where opportunities for them were identified. Staff felt listened to and involved.