Acorn Lodge

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 assessment of 13 August 2019, we rated this key question 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 70 (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 were respectful to people and when speaking about people. We observed kind and dignified interactions. For example, staff used screens when supporting people with hoists when in communal spaces to respect their privacy. A person spoke of staff kindness and said, "They give me a cuddle when I need one.” Relatives provided examples where they had seen people being treated with dignity. A relative told us, “Staff ask us to wait outside if [person] needs to go to the toilet. Someone had an accident in the communal area and they put screens around them.” We observed staff knocking on bedroom doors and awaiting a response before entering the room. A dignity champion had been appointed; they conducted audits to ensure people were being treated well and arranged fundraising events to celebrate dignity.

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. Staff knew people well, we observed a person communicating in their individual way, a staff member went over to them and established they wished to go back to bed and arranged for them to do so. We observed an activity session where the activity worker demonstrated an in depth knowledge of people, they were able to prompt reminiscence by knowing people’s previous occupations, likes and personalities. Activity sessions were adapted to suit people’s abilities and encourage participation. People’s culture and heritage was respected, where people may require food prepared in line with their beliefs, this was accommodated. A relative commented on the activities and said, “On the activities side they’re pretty good. They encourage [person] to take part. [Person] sometimes joins in to a fashion, the activities are able to engage people with dementia. There’s bingo, quizzes, throwing at a target and gardening. [Person] goes to the church service in the lounge.”

The provider mostly promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Relatives told us where possible their family members could make choices and staff gave examples about how they encouraged choice and independence. Comments included, “[Person] can make choices. They don’t get up until 10:00 to 11.00am and staff let them. [Person] can eat by themselves and staff listen to their choices.” A person told us, "If you want to go to bed you just have to ask, no time stipulated." A staff member said, “I encourage residents independence. For example, eating time, we make sure they have choices and say what they don’t want or like. In the morning when washing them, they choose their clothes and then we ask if we can help with the teeth and makeup. They make a choice.” We observed staff continually offering peoples options about meals, drinks and where they wanted to spend time.

The provider mostly listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff mostly responded to people’s needs in the moment to act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. Besides the example in ‘safe’ of the person whose discomfort was not responded to appropriately, we observed staff answering call bells in a timely way and responded to people’s requests for support, food or drink quickly. Where people did not verbally communicate their needs, staff watched for signs of unmet needs and anticipated what may be required. A staff member gave an example of this and told us, “I still give choices by seeing their facial reactions, you can know if they are saying yes or no. For those who can’t talk we give choices and they might give expressions or gestures so we know their first or second choice.” A person said, “Staff are definitely nice, there are nurses who help me if I'm unwell." The provider identified pockets within the home which became very warm in the summer months and responded to this by ensuring air conditioning was available for people’s comfort.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. The wellbeing of staff was valued by the provider; a cabin had been installed in the grounds to enable to staff have a space away from the service when taking breaks. Parties and gatherings were held for staff as a gesture of appreciation and to increase team building. Staff told us they felt appreciated and happy to work at the service. Some comments included, “I feel valued, they are supporting us if we ask for something.” And, “I am very happy, it’s the best placement for me. If I am working here to progress my career goals and finances, it’s improved my communication and knowledge.”