Abi House

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 respected and valued as individuals.

This service scored 70 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Kindness, compassion and dignity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Treating people as individuals during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

People had mixed experiences of use of communication tools. The provider had not always explored potential communication tools to ensure people were as independent as they could be. For example, pictorial boards to identify the plans for the day or showing activities people could choose from could be further developed. The manager explained how they and the staff were continuing to develop people’s communication tools and staff skills. Staff told us 2 people used their own interpretation of Makaton (a simplified sign language), and training had been arranged for staff to refresh their skills.

People did not always have a clear plan to promote active support, [Active Support is a method of enabling people with learning disabilities to engage more in their daily lives.] When asked, people told us staff did things for them like make drinks or simple foods. People told us staff did the laundry most of the time. One relative said, “[Name of loved one] should help with the cleaning but I think this has dropped off a bit so it would be nice to see him take a bigger part in cleaning his bedroom.”

The manager told us they were looking at ways to further develop more active support and introduce more communication tools. A pictorial menu planner had been introduced to support people in choosing the sort of meals they wanted to eat.

People were supported by staff who knew them well, offered choices and aimed to support them in their independence. People were not rushed and some people had use of preferred communication tools so they could make choices and be understood. One person had a therapy cat (an electronic cat) which was used to help a person choose what to do next without making any demands directly to the person. This had the positive effect of helping the person manage their anxiety about making choices.

Staff demonstrated a kind and caring approach. People were happy and comfortable in staff’s presence and would engage proactively. People were informed about the day’s plans. One person was supported to have a conversation with contractors working on the building, which they told us they enjoyed. We saw people who were not using verbal communication respond to staff offering choices with smiles and positive body language indicating which of 2 options they preferred. This corresponded with how their support plan described the person’s response when pleased about something. Another person told us they talked with staff all the time about what they wanted to do and eat for the day.

There was a positive approach to the planning of activities relevant to people at the service.

Throughout the visit we observed staff talking with people with genuine interest in what they had to say.

We did not look at Responding to people’s immediate needs during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Workforce wellbeing and enablement during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.