The Old Vicarage 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 service 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 65 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff 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 and relative’s comments included, “Staff know me well, they are kind” and “Staff are patient.”

Staff 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.Staff had received training in equality and diversity to emphasise the importance of treating people as unique individuals with different and diverse needs.

Staff promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had some choice and control over their own care, treatment and well-being. People told us they were given choices in some aspects of their lives. Their comments included, “I do make choices, I decide when I get a wash and get ready” and “Staff ask me which clothes I want out of the wardrobe, to wear. However, people did say they could not always go out when they wanted to. Peoples’ and relatives’ comments included, “I have never been on a trip out, it would be nice, “It would be great for [Name] to have a day out, it would be a change”, “I have settled but I find it very restrictive here, you cannot go to the corner shop, 1 of the girls will go if they are not busy” and I would love to go out especially in the good weather.” There was no cultivated garden area, for people to sit out. We followed this up with the provider about timescales for a planned gardening project, to develop a garden area. People did not always have access to meaningful activities to support their independence, health and well-being. There were no dedicated activities staff employed at the time of our inspection, and staff did not have the capacity to lead regular activities alongside their caring responsibility. Peoples’ comments included, “I want the man with the harp to come”, “Other places have turns on, entertainment, [Name] would love that, [Name] can sing”, “Sometimes I get a bored, there is not a lot to do” and “We are not very active.”

Staff at the service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. However, some people and relatives commented people had to wait for assistance. Their comments included,” Sometimes staff will be rushed, you have to wait, they say they will come back, not always”, “At nights there are not enough staff” and , “If someone falls down, you have to wait.”

The provider cared about and promoted the well-being of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.Staff told us they felt valued and supported by the management team. They all commented they were encouraged to voice their opinions, ideas and suggestions. They commented, “I now enjoy coming to work”, “It is better now, it is not clique” and “The residents are the best thing about working here.”