Hall Park 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 inspection we rated this key question good. At this inspection the rating has improved to outstanding.

This meant people were truly respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service.

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

The service was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Everyone at Hall Park was treated as an individual, with their own highly personalised care plans in place. We saw the service had hosted a party to celebrate the 104th birthday of a person. This person had been visited by a local television crew, police officers and community representatives, to wish them a happy birthday. The staff team had shared a request locally for birthday cards to be sent for the person, hoping to receive 104. The person had actually received 321 cards, and it had taken a long time to open them all. This person said told us how special this had been for them. They said, “We had a big party for my birthday, it was a great day, with lots of people coming in to celebrate with me.”

When people had visitors, they were enabled to spend time outside of their bedrooms with their visitors. There were many private spaces within the home and garden that people could utilise. The service had a ‘gardening ambassador’, who spoke passionately with us about the fruit and vegetables they were looking forward to growing in the raised beds this year. This person had requested a greenhouse, which the maintenance team were working on siting in the most suitable place in the garden, to allow maximum sunlight and access for all.

People were supported in a way that was compassionate and personalised, taking into account their own personal experiences and their past history. We saw interactions between people and staff showed people were treated with dignity and respected as a unique individual, with their own preferences and desires. One staff member told us, “You can't be institutional with people, you need to treat people with respect as an individual. I really enjoy working on the memory lane floor, as people have such differing needs.”

People and their relatives all told us that staff were respectful of them and respected their privacy. One relative told us, “I am very happy with the home; staff genuinely care about the residents.”

The service treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The provider took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

People were encouraged to follow their goals and aspirations at Hall Park. The management team told us how one person was a very keen rambler, prior to moving into the service. Staff supported this person to undertake a sponsored walk, to another service within the provider brand. This service was 14 miles away, so this involved significant planning, staffing and support. This person and the staff team had really enjoyed this experience, and photographs were saved in their activity records showing this. A relative told us, “There are always staff around and you can always find someone, but staff don’t invade residents’ space. I haven’t noticed any difference at weekends, the pace is slower, but they still have activities. I get a weekly plan emailed to me.”

The service had a life enrichment planner, detailing events which people may wish to participate in. The service employed dedicated activity co-ordinators, to ensure people had a range of tailored activities. The service had access to a minibus, to allow people safe transport. The management team explained their plans to ensure the relevant training was in place to ensure a person who used an adapted wheeled vehicle could participate in upcoming events.

The service had an ‘enrichment’ folder, which detailed the activities and events held to mark different cultures and religious holidays. We saw the service had recently celebrated Holi, a Hindu festival of colour, marking the end of winter. People had been encouraged to wear bright colours, enjoy a cultural menu and hand painting.

On the day of our inspection, people and the activities co-ordinators were excited to be going on a trip to Wollaton Park. The weather was bright and sunny, and people were dressed up for the occasion. The activity co-ordinators spoke of their passion in organising activities which improved people’s wellbeing. Future planned activities included visits from faith leaders, visits from local school children, entertainment with singers, outings to the local pub, a Skegness trip and a celebration for St George’s Day. The service also regularly hosted visits from therapy animals, including miniature Shetland ponies. People we spoke with all told us how wonderful these activities were for them to be a part of.

The service was exceptional at promoting people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People living at Hall Park were empowered to have their say about things that were important to them, feel listened to with their views acted on. People and their sexuality and personal relationships were fully respected. One person from the LGBTQIA+ community was supported to maintain their personal appearance with support from an external barber, who they had regularly visited prior to moving into Hall Park. Staff had ensured this person’s preferences and feelings were fully considered within this arrangement. We saw an exceptionally personalised care plan in place which reflected this person’s sexual orientation and the relationships which mattered to them.

Staff fully respected people’s choices and allowed them to plan their day as they preferred. One person said, “My waking and rising times are respected and that is what I like. There is no time slot, I just say when I am ready.” Another relative told us, “My family member is quite independent, the staff don’t take over at all. The staff check on them and are very good at encouraging them.”

A relative we spoke with told us, “My family member does get offered choices, as one day I visited, and they were not up yet. Staff told me they had been in to check on them, but they had chosen to lay in bed longer.” Another relative told us, “My family member chooses when they go to bed.”

We saw people were encouraged to make choices around their clothing each day. One person we spoke with told us how they loved the colour pink, and bright patterns, as their, “Eyesight was not as good as it used to be.” We saw this person was dressed for the day in their favourite pink outfit, and staff all knew the persons preferences, which were clearly detailed in their care plan.

The management team was exceptional in how they 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.

Staff were highly skilled, enabling them to anticipate and meet people’s needs quickly and in ways that reduced and mitigated people’s discomfort and distress. One person told us how the staff team were responsive to their needs. They said, “I really like the fact that any health issues are dealt with straight away. That includes for an ambulance, or anything like that.”

Where a person had struggled with confidence, another relative told us, “Staff gently encouraged my family member to join in initially and now they love it. Their confidence has grown and now they have a much more sociable life.” Another relative told us, “I think the staff are very understanding of my family member. Very kind and caring, there is not one of them I could say isn’t caring. They all get top marks.”

Where people could not communicate verbally, we observed interactions between staff and people which demonstrated relationships were caring and compassionate. One person was observed to walk with purpose within the communal spaces during the day, checking cushions and ornaments. Staff explained that this person believed they were in charge of the floor, and we saw staff being supportive of them carrying out their ‘daily checks’. We saw the person was smiling and content during this activity, with staff regularly chatting with them about their actions.

The management team always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and were exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

The registered manager spoke of their pride in their staff team, and how everyone worked effectively together to maintain and improve high quality care. The registered manager had recently nominated the staff team for an award within their provider group. They had also nominated the team for a national care award, wishing to ensure they were recognised for their hard work in improving the service.

Staff we spoke with felt supported and enabled by their management team and included as partners in the shaping and direction of the service. One member of the management team explained how they had been fully supported to progress within the organisation. They had worked in multiple differing roles, and felt their skills and understanding had helped them to improve their practice. Another staff member told us how the management team had really supported them back into work, after a recent change in their health needs.

Staff had access to an online application, where they could book onto training, assess their compliance, access information on pensions, wellbeing and updates on policies and procedures.