Blackberry Hill

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 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 provider always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. Staff consistently treated people with warmth, patience and respect. Throughout our visits we saw people being treated with kindness, compassion and dignity. Relatives described staff as “kind and caring” and said this “shines through” in their interactions. One relative told us, “We feel very happy, very reassured, all staff are empathetic”. Staff understood individual preferences, one relative shared that they “loved the way they talk to them like adults”. Observations reflected compassionate practice.

The provider 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.Throughout our visits we saw people being treated as individuals. People were supported in ways that respected their unique needs, strengths and communication styles. Staff demonstrated personalised approaches such as offering visual cues, pictures, objects of reference and tailored choices depending on each person’s communication needs. Observations and interviews showed staff regularly offered options and respected people’s decisions such as allowing people to choose their support worker or decide whether to take part in activities.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People accessed a wide range of activities both within the home and community. People were encouraged to maintain independence and express preferences in daily life. Several staff demonstrated choice‑making techniques offering two visual options, hand‑over‑hand prompts or allowing people to point to preferred staff. Staff told us, “People get choices, we do not force them to do things they do not want” and “People can get up and go to sleep when they want.” This demonstrated promotion of autonomy while balancing safety needs. Relatives told us, “They give [relative] choices what [relative] would like to do” and “They respect [relatives] independence and help access things on [relatives] own terms.”

Care plans clearly outlined what people could do independently and what support they needed. Relatives told us people were supported to be independent. Comments included, “They are very proactive, they get [relative] to do stuff for themself. They told me about help with household tasks, helps with laundry. [Relative] is taken to the shops and chooses things [relative] wants, a choice to go out for a meal, points to what [relative] likes, they respect [relatives] independence and help [relative] to access things on [relatives] own terms” and “[Relative] is able to treat it like [relatives] home, [relative] is as independent as can be in realms of safety, allowed to wander room to room, can go to bed, as much liberty as [relative] is able to have.”

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. Staff responded promptly and appropriately when people required support. During the inspection, when a person appeared distressed and potentially experiencing a seizure, staff acted quickly checking them, calling for help and ensuring they were safe and comfortable. Most relatives told us staff contacted them “straight away” if any incident occurred.

Professionals provided positive feedback, reporting staff had good awareness of when to escalate concerns and contact health services when required. One professional told us they found Blackberry Hill contacts them appropriately about residents, provides good records, and brings patients to appointments.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff spoke positively about working at Blackberry Hill. They told us, “I enjoy working here” and “The team is really nice.” This supported continuity of care and positive outcomes for people.

Staff told us managers were attentive to their wellbeing. One staff told us, “When I was not my usual self, [deputy manager] really listened to me”. Staff told us there were wellbeing schemes available which they could access. Staff said managers were accommodating and supportive of their individual circumstances. Staff felt able to discuss reasonable adjustments and flexible working arrangements. This meant that staff felt valued and supported enabling them to work effectively.

Staff felt supported, valued and able to seek help when needed and told us managers were approachable. Comments from staff included, “Managers are approachable, I could speak to them anytime” and “Deputy offered me support and really listened to me”.