Skelton Court

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

Staff always 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 spoke positively about the care and support provided by staff. Their comments included, “Staff have a caring attitude, they do anything you ask they are very helpful. They are absolutely kind and patient” and “Staff, from what I’ve seen, are kind and patient. They’ve got to know his likes and dislikes. They show him choices.”

Visiting professionals spoke positively about staff and management. Comments included, “The manager is very approachable, as are the deputies, and are happy to ask for support when required. Families have updated us that management are very approachable, and they always update families of changes in the home.”

Staff 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.

Care plans were detailed, and person centred. They contained information on people's choices and preferences on how they would like to receive their care. People’s cultural, social and religious needs were understood and met. Information was available to staff in care plans on how to support this.

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

People were supported to maintain contact with those who were important to them. We observed people receiving visits from family and friends throughout our assessment.

People had a range of activities they could be involved in. Whilst the organisation had a programme in place to support activities within the home, we observed people showed a lack of interest and engagement in the activities being offered. Some staff did not have the skills or knowledge to then be able to offer alternative activities. Some staff we spoke with did confirm they found providing activities outside of their comfort zone or difficult on top of providing care. Comments from people and their relatives varied regarding activities on offer. They included, “They made out they had a lady who did activities but that’s not so. They have trips out or so they say” and “If you want company, you’ve got it. Activities include dominos and music, I keep myself busy.”

The service had been awarded the Veteran Friendly Framework [VFF] accreditation in recognition of their work to support the wellbeing needs of veterans. The registered manager ensured that Armed Forces status was included in people’s care plans.

Staff 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 were supported by staff who knew them well. Staff responded to people’s needs in a timely manner. Daily records detailed the care provided in line with people’s care plans. For example, where people were required to have their nutrition and hydration to be monitored, detailed records had been completed on how much food and fluid people had been supported to have.

Staff responded to people’s requests for help and were attentive to their needs, offering support and encouragement. Call bells were answered in a timely way.

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 the support they received to enable them to carry out their role and feel valued. Comments included, “I really enjoy working here. Management is always visible. I can’t fault them” and “staff and management are all very supportive. I feel confident I can speak up if I have any concerns and I will be listened to.”

New staff were supported to complete an induction programme before working on their own. Staff had received the necessary training to enable them to carry out person centred care. Staff received regular supervisions which enabled them to discuss any ideas or concerns they may have. The registered manager explained about the initiatives the service had in place to support staff wellbeing which included access to occupational health and counselling services.