The Star Nursing 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 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 kindness and respect.

People told us, “I am really pleased with the care I get. They can’t do enough for me. They are a lovely bunch of people.” Another person told us, “I like the way they look after you and take notice of what you say. They seem very kind.” One relative told us, “The staff seem nice, and know my [family member], and as far as I can see they are attentive and kind.” Another relative told us, “When I'm there everybody seems to care with genuine affection.”

We observed staff being kind and providing reassurance and comfort to people.

However, there were some comments made by staff that were not dignified, for example we heard staff refer to people who needed help to eat as “feeders”. The provider was prompt at addressing any undignified actions from staff.

The provider did not always treat people as individuals or make sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They did not always take account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Care plans were lacking in information regarding people’s communication needs, preferences, likes and dislikes, personal, cultural, social needs, strengths and abilities. Daily records did not reflect that people’s personal and social needs were being met.

However, the majority of people and their relatives we spoke with told us that staff respected their individual preferences. For example, their choices as to where they liked to spend their day. Staff told us that different cultural events were celebrated with a variety of foods and activities.

The provider did not always promote people’s independence, so people did not always know their rights and have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

There was a lack of evidence that people took part in meaningful activities, were supported to maintain relationships and had access to the local community.

During one site visit we observed staff providing support to people to mobilise and eat without engagement or interaction with them.

Some people and relatives told us that staff did not seek consent before supporting them. One person told us, “They don’t ask if they can wash me, they just do it.” Another person told us, “They just come in and get on with things”. One relative told us, “[person] said the other day that [person] was fed up with being pushed to do things, such as going to bed when not ready.”

However, some people and relatives told us they had a choice of food, when they had a shower, when they went to bed and where they wanted to go in the home.

During our visits we observed family members visiting with no restrictions in place. People were moving freely around the home and their choices and decisions were respected.

The provider 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.

Most people told us staff were responsive when they requested assistance. Staff knew the people they supported well and demonstrated an understanding of what could cause people distress and how to comfort them.

During a site visit we observed staff interactions in the downstairs lounge and observed staff responding promptly but calmly to people’s immediate needs. However, there were missed opportunities for staff to engage with people and be more attentive. For example, we observed one person attempting to drink out of an empty cup for 30 minutes.

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

Staff told us that they felt supported and felt that the management team cared about their wellbeing. They told us they had supervision and team meetings to share feedback. One staff member told us, “Manager is so lovely, the kind of manager you can always go back to and tell how you feel.”