Cherry 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 last assessment 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 65 (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 respect. However, on occasion, some staff had used post-it notes attached to people’s arms, hands and legs to identify the position of a mark or injury that needed to be photographed and documented in their care notes. This was not dignified for people. The registered manager informed us this practice would stop immediately.

Everyone we spoke with told us staff were kind, compassionate and respectful. One person told us, “I feel content (here) the staff are lovely and so are the managers.” Another person said, “I am very happy here, all the staff are good to me.”

It was clear from discussions with staff they had respect for the people they supported. They gave us examples of how they responded to people’s needs and were able to explain the support they provided to people. There was a mutual respect between the management team, staff and people and their relatives. The provider demonstrated that there was a culture within the service of kindness and respect and understood the importance of such a culture.

Staff had completed training in relation to dignity and respect. Our own observations of staff interactions with people showed people were treated with kindness and respect. Staff seemed to know people well and understood their needs. The atmosphere of the home was friendly and at times lively, particularly during periods of activity such as exercising and dancing, which people appeared to enjoy very much.

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, goals, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff had completed training around equality and diversity and were aware of people’s protected characteristics. People told us they were treated well by staff who were considerate and understood their individual needs and preferences.

Care plans considered people’s cultural needs and tailored support, with input from people, to make sure the care met people’s needs. People had opportunities to practice their religion with visits from representatives from local places of worship.

There were pictures of people enjoying birthday celebrations and cultural awareness events such as Diwali and Saint’s days.

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

People and their relatives told us they had an input into the support they received. However, we found more could be done to enable people who used wheelchairs to independently access the garden. We discussed this issue with the registered manager who informed us plans were in place to install a ramp into the garden. They acknowledged there had been some delay but assured us they recognised the importance of promoting independence and accessibility.

Staff gave us examples of how they supported people to maintain their independence, such as encouragement to complete some of their own personal care, washing their hands and face and brushing their hair. People and relatives told us staff would always check first if people wanted support before assisting. One relative told us, “They [staff] help [person] keep their independence

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff were alert to people’s needs and responded in a timely manner when needed. People and their relatives told us they felt listened to and staff responded promptly if people needed any support. One relative said, “I can’t praise the staff enough for what they do with (person). They are happy here and if there was anything wrong, they would tell me.”

Staff responded promptly to people who were becoming distressed in a calm manner. For example, 1 person was upset at the noise from another person, and they were starting to raise their voices to each other. This had the potential to escalate quickly; however staff promptly intervened with distraction techniques to support each of the people and the situation was quickly resolved.

Healthcare professionals told us how much the service had improved under the current management team. One professional told us, “I feel supported by the staff team, they are professional, proactive, positive and inclusive. I have no complaints, and I have confidence in the home’s current standards and systems. There has been a significant improvement in care delivery and a high standard of practice across the board under this management team."

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to deliver person-centred care. Staff told us they felt valued by the provider. One staff member told us, “We have staff member of the month, and since it was implemented, staff are really doing their best, and are motivated by it. It was a really good initiative to be brought in.”

Staff felt there was a positive workplace culture with a diverse team. Another staff member said, “We work well together, we can talk about things. When we get new staff in, they get given a lot of training."