SeeAbility - The Willows

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 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 generally treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion, and respected their privacy and dignity. However, we observed some occasions where the approach of staff could have been more respectful. This included instances of staff leading people around their home by holding their wrist rather than guiding them and on some occasions, there being a lack of engagement when supporting people on an individual basis. The registered manager assured us these areas would be addressed with the staff team.

In contrast, we observed numerous instances of staff fully engaging with people whilst understanding their wishes and preferences. Staff spoke about people with affection and were able to describe their life histories and how they liked their care to be provided. We observed staff sharing jokes with people, offering different options and providing personal care discreetly.

People and relatives told us staff treated them with kindness. One relative told us, “Things have improved a lot there. It takes time to understand (family member) but they’re working really well with (family member) now and building a good relationship.”

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences in the majority of instances. However, there were occasions when people may have benefited from their culture and religious beliefs being taken into account more fully.

One person told us their religious beliefs were important to them, and they enjoyed going to church. This was highlighted on the persons activities programme each week. However, a review of the person’s records showed this option was not consistently offered to them each week. Another person’s records highlighted a cultural aspect of family visits which they particularly enjoyed. Despite acknowledging this the service had not reviewed the significance of this for the person or explored the options for incorporating this into their daily lives.

In other instances, we found staff were knowledgeable about people’s preferences, what was important to them and things they didn’t like. This included details of what types of things people enjoyed doing when they went out, their sensory needs and important people in their lives. We observed staff taking different approaches when supporting people in line with their preferences and how they responded.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so that as far as possible people had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People were offered choices around day-to-day decisions such as what clothes they preferred to wear, meal options and how and where they spent their time. We observed staff offering choices using different communication methods such as asking people verbally, using objects of reference and guiding people to different areas to show them.

People were supported to maintain and develop their independence in a variety of ways such as undertaking regular exercise to maintain mobility. The provider ensured equipment was available to people to support their independence such as walking aids and adapted crockery. Staff told us one person had recently started to be more independent with their meals due to changes in how staff supported them and the use of specialist cutlery. The registered manager told us they were in the process of developing active support to increase people’s independence with household chores. They told us, “It’s our role to enable residents, not to disable.” Active Support is a person‑centred approach that focuses on doing things with people rather than for them, enabling participation, independence, and skill‑building in everyday activities.

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.

act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff were attentive to people’s needs and understood when people wanted support. We observed one person’s mannerisms change which appeared to indicate they were becoming unsettled. Staff immediately went to get a tactile sensory object for the person which instantly appeared to reassure and calm them. Staff frequently checked people were happy and comfortable. A number of people received one to one support from staff. It was clear staff knew people well and were able to change what the person was doing or make suggestions when they noted people losing interest.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff told us they felt supported by the registered manager and wider management team. One staff member told us, “The (registered) manager is so supportive. If you talk to them, they will be there. The seniors as well; I feel I have learnt a lot here and that helps me in connecting with people more.”

In addition to the support of the management team, the provider had a number of initiatives to support staff well-being. This included a well-being representative in the service as well as at head office. This meant staff were able to discuss any concerns or potential issues impacting on their well-being and receive support to access the support they may require.