Forge House Care North Kent

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.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated 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 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 their relatives told us they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. One person’s relative told us, “It would be hard for me to be too complimentary here. Every single person, no matter how busy they are, even managerial staff who are visiting, always take the time to speak kindly to [person’s name]. Her live-in carers show every kindness that could possibly be imagined.” Another relative told us, “All staff are exemplary in their kindness.”

A health care professional told us, “I find the staff very caring and knowledgeable about the people they support. They have always displayed kindness, dignity and respect, and appear to have a lovely rapport with people”.

Care records detailed how to maintain people’s dignity. For example, one person has their bedroom door left ajar with their female carer close by to keep an eye on them when they is washing.

Staff had received dignity in care training. We observed staff provide respectful care to people. For example, staff knocked on people’s doors before entering their rooms, introduced themselves, and sought people’s permission before supporting them. The manager told us, “I am very proud of the staff and how they care for everyone, including each other and the health professionals we work with.”

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.

People were supported to participate in activities of their choice. One person’s relative told us, “[Person’s name] carers know her likes and dislikes extremely well. This could lead to carers making assumptions about her choices, but his never happens. For example, carers will always ask her what food she would like for her meals even though she often struggles with decision making.” Another relative told us, “Carers know that putting on an ABBA CD and singing along with [person’s name] will cheer her up.”

Care plans recorded detailed information about people’s backgrounds, preferences, and their social, cultural, sexual and spiritual needs. Staff understood and supported people in a way that met these needs. For example, one person kept a precious Christian book in their room and staff knew the stories they liked to talk about.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People communicated that they made choices about aspects of their daily lives.

A relative told us, “Carers will help [person’s name] make choices by simplifying options or using visual cues, holding up food and drink choices.”

People and relatives told us they could see each other when they wanted and were made to feel welcome when they visited. One relative told us, “Whenever I visit, the staff are always so welcoming and ask me how I am.”

People had weekly planners which they created with activities of their choice. Care records detailed how to promote people’s independence and who had the support of advocacy services. For example, one person liked to have facials and would ask staff to help her put on face masks. Another person liked to have salt, pepper, and sauce on the table with each meal and enjoyed spices such as Cajun and paprika.

We observed kind, fun, and meaningful interactions between staff and people, which showed that staff respected and valued people using the service. Staff knew how to communicate well with people, using their preferred pronoun and name, bespoke communication such asMakaton, widgets, picture boards and visual cues. All staff were respectful, both when speaking with people and when talking about the people they supported.

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.

People communicated that their needs were met. One relative commented, “When [person’s name) was in hospital, her carers stayed with her beyond their allocated hours to stop her from becoming distressed by the situation, and to ensure she was helped with a meal and fully settled before they left.”

People’s care records ensured staff had the guidance to respond to people’s needs quickly and effectively. For example, one person was able to verbally communicate when and where they experienced pain on a scale of 1-10.

We observed staff responding to people’s needs without delay, and with dignity, respect and kindness. One relative told us, “The number one priority of Forge House Care is always ensuring [person’s name] is as physically and mentally as well as she can be.”

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

There were processes in place to support staff wellbeing. Surveys had taken place to gain staff views about how the service could improve, and there were programmes in place to support staff to develop in their role. As a result of feedback from a recent staff survey, the service was in the process of creating a rewards and recognition programme for all staff, and a quarterly forum for staff to share their feedback on this to the management team.

One staff member told us, “The management really listen, and you can openly voice anything you think would improve things. There is a strong emphasis on close team working and we have a group chat for each house.”

The manager told us, “We have commissioned a new counselling provider for all staff to access the support they need. Rotas can and have been changed for the mutual benefit of the person and staff member.”