Squeaks House Residential Care Home

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 Requires Improvement.

This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.

This service scored 45 (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 did not always treat people with kindness, empathy, and compassion, or respect their privacy and dignity.

As highlighted within this assessment report, observation’s demonstrated staff interactions on occasions were minimal and task focused, rather than being person-centred. However, staff were knowledgeable about each person’s needs and how to support them.

The provider did not always treat people as individuals or make sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. Although, they took account of people’s unique backgrounds and protected characteristics as previously recorded, people did not always receive person centred care.

People’s protected characteristics under the Equalities Act 2010, such as age, disability, religion and ethnicity were identified as part of their need’s assessment where completed. Staff knew about people’s individual characteristics.

The provider promoted people’s independence and privacy but did not always promote and afford people choice or consistently treat them with dignity.

Staff told us they understood people’s rights and choices and were able to tell us about how they tried to include people in decisions. However, this did not always happen in practice. Observations during our assessment demonstrated people were not routinely offered choices.For example, during the day people were not always given a choice of drinks, clothes protectors were placed on people without gaining their consent and gravy was poured onto people’s dinner without their agreement. Staff did not ensure 1 person’s overall moving and handling experience was positive when using a specific item of equipment which was primarily designed for short distance transfers and standing practices.

People were supported by staff to maintain aspects of their independence. For example, people had access to appropriate equipment, such as walking frames to help maximise their mobility. Where applicable people were encouraged to retain their autonomy at mealtimes by eating independently or with minimal staff support. Staff confirmed that some people who were very reliant on staff for most activities of daily living, were actively encouraged to undertake some aspects of their personal care, such as washing their face and hands, and brushing their teeth, to maximise their independence. A person using the service told us they could access the garden independently as they liked gardening. They told us, “I’ve taken cuttings from a tree and am planting them here in the raised beds. I don’t need anyone with me out here as I’ve only got my little trowel.”

People received support with their personal care in private and staff were discreet when asking people if they required support to have their comfort needs met. People were supported to maintain their personal appearance to ensure their self-esteem and sense of self-worth.

People were supported to maintain relationships that were important to them, including family members and friends. The service supported visits for people living at Squeaks House Residential Care Home and people were able to receive visitors without restrictions. A person using the service told us, “I get a few visitors who can visit whenever they want.”

The provider and staff did not always respond to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

A person using the service asked 2 male members of staff on 2 separate occasions if they could use the toilet so as to have their comfort needs met. The person requested they had a female member of staff to support them with this task. Both male members of staff stated they would get a female member of staff to help them. However, after 10 minutes of waiting and the person becoming distressed, we intervened and spoke with the assistant manager, only then was assistance provided.

The provider did not always care about and promote the wellbeing of their staff.

Staff well-being was not being advocated.Information was not readily available and displayed for staff relating to wellbeing initiatives. For example, employee of the month, menopause support in the workplace, the Employee Assistance Programme [EAP]. The latter is a benefit that offers employees confidential support and guidance for personal or professional issues that may affect their work performance and for those struggling with their mental health. Additionally, recognition programmes and projects that could improve staff retention and wellbeing, coaching and software application subscriptions that could focus on promoting staffs’ mental health and improving emotional wellbeing had not been pursued and considered. This was confirmed as accurate by the manager.

The staff workforce at Squeaks House Residential Care Home were diverse, including representations from a range of different cultures, ethnicities and religions. The manager confirmed arrangements were not in place to recognise different multi-faith festivals and customs for staff.