Frithwood Nursing 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.

The last rating for this key question was requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The staff treated people with kindness and respect. They were polite and caring. We observed staff being sensitive to people’s emotions through the way they communicated and by allowing them time. Staff ensured people were given privacy when they provided care. People were able to spend time where they wanted and take part in activities of their choice. Staff were attentive and understanding of their individual needs. People and their relatives told us they had good relationships with staff. Their comments included, “The care staff are very helpful” and “They are very kind and do their best.” We observed people seeking out conversations with staff who engaged well and spent time with them. Staff supported people to take their time with meals, drinks and moving around the home. People were able to make choices about the gender of workers supporting them with intimate personal care and this choice was respected.

The staff treated people as individuals. Their cultural and religious needs were assessed recorded and met. People were able to eat meals which reflected their culture. Information in their rooms, about their care and around the house was available in different languages. The staff told us they celebrated different religious festivals and events. There was a weekly church service. Some people liked to pray in their rooms. They had the equipment they needed, including prayer mats and religious texts and guides. We saw 1 person asking staff to help them prepare for prayer during our visit.

The provider ensured regular displays to celebrate different cultures and things that were important to people. Comments from staff included, “We celebrate Pride (a celebration of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT+) community) and have posters and flyers about this”, “We have made little booklets to help us communicate with people who speak different languages” and “We decorate the home for, and have activities, to celebrate all the festivals. We make sure everyone feels it in the home so that they know and are part of the experience.”

The staff supported people to make choices. They made sure they offered choices using people’s preferred communication style. The staff told us they understood that people’s conditions sometimes impacted on their ability to understand and make decisions. They told us how they used objects, gestures and visual clues to help people understand. We saw staff offering people choices throughout the day and respecting the decisions people made. People and their relatives told us choices were respected.

Staff supported people to be independent when they could be. They encouraged people to be mobile and to manage independently at mealtimes. The provider employed an activities coordinator who organised a range of different events and activities. These included helping people to maintain skills and coordination, as well as having fun.

Staff were attentive and responded to people’s immediate needs. During our visit to the service, we saw staff responding when people requested or needed help. Staff were focussed on the individual person they were supporting. They made sure people were clean and comfortable following meals and drinks. When call bells were activated, staff were quick to respond. Throughout the day, staff regularly checked people were happy and safe. This included people who were in their rooms or away from the main communal areas.

People and their relatives told us staff responded when they called for help or needed them. Staff identified changes in people’s health or condition and alerted nurses and other healthcare professionals when needed.

The provider has systems to develop staff and consider their wellbeing. Staff told us they felt well supported and treated. They explained they had regular individual and team meetings with their manager to discuss work and non-work-related issues. Their comments included, “Supervision is regular and helpful. It's not just a tick-box exercise; we actually discuss things that are going well and things I'm finding challenging”, “We have regular team meetings where we can share ideas and raise concerns. It's good to know everyone's on the same page” and “The appraisal process is fair and transparent. I felt like my voice was heard.”

The provider had systems to support staff emotional wellbeing. They had created information packs and handbooks for staff who were new to the United Kingdom. They celebrated staff successes and supported internal promotions in the company.