Avondale Care Home

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 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 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 told us staff were caring. Comments included, “Oh yes, very caring” and “The staff are kind and they care. Especially the nurses.” A relative said, “I am happy they look after [person] with dignity.”

Staff were kind, respectful and patient. We observed staff respecting people’s privacy by knocking on bedroom doors and greeting people warmly.

Staff spoke with care and compassion about the people they supported and demonstrated a shared commitment to providing good care. One staff member told us, “Life history is an important part of understanding who the resident is and how they have coped with situations during their life. It could also be the key to understanding some of the behaviours they exhibit currently. The more we know the more we can appreciate their perspective.”

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 understood people’s preferences and wishes. Care plan’s contained good information, there were detailed individual plans which gave a holistic picture of the person to support staff to ensure people’s needs and preferences were understood.

One person told us, “I prefer a wash and staff do respect that.” Another person said, “They ask me and I make my choices. I like to wash and brush teeth before breakfast”

We observed staff offering people choices and respecting their preferences.

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

People who had capacity felt they had control over day-to-day choices. Where people did not have capacity to make decisions, the provider and staff had built good relationships with families, so they had a good understanding of what preferences people might like, even when they were unable to choose themselves.

Care planning set out people’s preferences in terms of how they wanted to receive care, where possible. A member of staff spoke about choices for people. They said, “There are a lot of activities available for residents though they do not all wish to do these. I respect that.”

One person told us staff were flexible with the choices people made. They said, “You know I can eat where I want. If I choose to eat in my room they [staff] bring it to me.”

The provider ensured staff responded promptly, in the moment, when people needed help. Staff listened to people’s views and wishes and acted on them.

When people changed their minds, for instance at mealtimes, or choosing where they wanted to spend their time, staff were responsive to this. Staff were patient and helped people communicate their needs. One person spoke with us about how staff responded to their wishes, we heard, “The staff come and help and seem to know what I need.”

Staff made prompt referrals to healthcare professionals when required and records confirmed healthcare professionals’ guidance was recorded in care plans and acted upon. For example, SALT had provided guidance in relation to a person’s dietary needs, this guidance was being followed.

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

Staff felt well supported by leaders. One staff member said, “We are all supported well. I am being supported to develop and progress within the company, it’s hard work but it is great.” Another staff member commented, “I am supported here, certainly.”

The provider recognised and acted on the recruitment and retention challenges faced in social care. They did everything practicable to ensure the staff they employed understood the benefits and challenges of working in social care.

New staff received appropriate induction, supervision, training and support from experienced staff.