Fern 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. This is the first inspection of 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 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 staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. However, our observations showed some improvements were required to ensure people’s dignity was always upheld, as discussions about health conditions and support with personal care were not always discreet. The new manager took action to raise this in a staff meeting straight away. We received positive feedback about staff interacting warmly with people. A relative said, “Yes definitely, [staff] talk to [person]. I go once a week and [person] talks to me, I ask if [person] is happy or got any problems and [person] says they are happy. Some staff are brilliant with [person] and laugh and joke.”

The provider sought to treat people as individuals, so people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. For example, where people had a clear preference for specific staff members to support them, this was respected as far as possible. A staff member told us, “Some [people] go out for lunch, dinner, dance club, swimming; they have a choice. In the home we have in-house activities like dancing, singing, baking and painting.” However, it was not always clearly demonstrated how leisure activities had been tailored to people’s individual areas of interest. A professional who worked with the service told us, “I am not sure how much differentiation there is to the activities that are available to the residents (people).” The new manager told us they would address this and planned to identify individualised aspirations and goals in partnership with people and their families.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. A staff member said, “I always try on a day-to-day basis to support [people] in anything they would like to and make it as fun and fulfilling as possible.” We saw people had large and comfortable bedrooms, with access to a well-maintained garden with flowers and strawberries growing. We observed people enjoying the warm weather, relaxing on the garden swing. People were free to receive visitors and go out with family and friends. A relative told us, “[Person’s] room is lovely, [person] has a TV and a sofa, [person] feels more comfortable in their own room, it’s clean and tidy. When we go to visit it’s always lovely.”

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. Changes in people’s presentation, emotional state or distress which could show a deterioration in their health or wellbeing, were recognised by staff. For example, staff could explain how they would give emotional support if a person had a seizure. Records clearly recorded potential triggers to distress, and what staff should do to provide support. A staff member told us, “We do have [people] who may at times becomes distressed; how I would support any [person] would depend very much on the individual. For example, I may use distraction techniques, or a change of scenery may help, a calm tone of voice when interacting, and good listening.”

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to deliver person-centred care. We received positive feedback from staff about the management team. A staff member told us, “I love working there [Fern Lodge], it is a nice environment. Staff are well looked after; people are well looked after.” Team meetings were held to discuss issues relevant to the service or staff experience, and support was available to staff such as through the provider’s employee assistance program.