Westminster House

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 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.

The provider’s core values were trust, valuing diversity, recognition and support. Staff we spoke with were fully aware of the core values of the service and were passionate about their jobs.Their care and support reflected the provider’s core values. One staff member reflected the value of loyal when they told us, “The people who live here always come first. I enjoy coming to work every day. We are like family.”

We found the culture of kindness and care extended to people’s relatives and visitors. Many relatives gave overwhelmingly positive feedback about the care their family member received and the compassionate and considerate staff. A relative told us, “I am always welcomed and encouraged to remain involved in my [loved one’s] everyday life. The staff are all so kind, they will update of how [person] is doing.” A professional told us, “The staff present person-centred values and they have a kind and compassionate attitude towards clients and families. An example of this is the effort they put in place to ensure family contact and culturally informed celebrations, food, and other individuals’ choices.”

Staff were incredibly knowledgeable about how to be kind and compassionate when people were feeling upset or anxious. People were living with very specific support needs, including how they showed how they were feeling when they felt upset or anxious.

We observed staff speaking with people with kindness and compassion. People, who found it difficult to ask for support or interaction, felt very comfortable, happy and relaxed around the staff team.We observed that staff were proud of people’s achievements and showed us photographs of people celebrating achievements and successes. The provider took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. The provider kept records of the compliments they had received which thanked staff for how they had treated people and relatives.

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.

One of the providers key values was valuing diversity, the respectful acknowledgement and appreciation of everyone’s uniqueness, promoting professionalism each person using the service as unique and as an individual. This was fully understood and embraced by the management and staff team. A significant amount of attention and detail had been given to spending time with people to fully identify their individual support needs and preferences. This had resulted in people’s support being very individualised and specific to their needs and preferences.

Detailed care plans were focused solely on the individual with person centred care being the main emphasis, ensuring that people were treated as individuals. Care plans demonstrated that people’s communication needs had been assessed and met, to enable them to engage in their care, treatment and support, to maximise their experience and outcomes. Topics of interests were a big part of the initial assessment and re-assessment process which were discussed face to face with people. Information was sought in relation to people’s preferred lifestyles, their cultural and unique backgrounds, the people that were important to them and the different hobbies and interests they enjoyed. Information was also sought about people’s preferred routines and the ways in which their support would fit into their lives rather than their lives having to change because they required support. This meant people’s care was delivered in a holistic and person centred way.

People were living full and fulfilling lives, supported to spend their time in ways that they chose. The provider operates their own community centre, where people can access a sensory room, play music, or take part in structured activities. They also run an education hub for those who are able to participate in structured learning sessions, which are delivered by a qualified teacher.

In the past, people had found it difficult to access this level of support. However, due to the outstanding dedication of the management and staff team, individuals were now being fully supported in a truly person-centred way.

Staff fully understood the importance of promoting equality and diversity. One staff member said, "We are all different and live different lives. We are not here to judge." Care plans contained comprehensive information about people's diverse needs and their chosen lifestyles.

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

We saw the care and support people received reflected their personal needs and wishes. Staff we spoke with could tell us about those they supported and what was important to them. This included people's individual preferences, any health and welfare issues and promoting their independence. A member of staff told us, "We offer choices around everything, these are young people living their lives, we need to support them to do all they can. Everyone is happy and well cared for." In respect to communication with people, another member of staff said, "We have full communication plans and staff are all well aware of them. There are special words we use with [person] and pictures and hand gestures also. We understand what [person] want and that allows us to offer the choice he needs." A relative said, ‘‘Staff are always very nice and good relationships. I get on with the manager. My [family member] has complex needs, and it has taken staff a while to get used to them. They understand their needs, and they are very settled. They refer to it as their home.’’

People’s support plans reflected their choices and decisions and informed staff how their care and support should be provided. There was information about their likes and dislikes, communication needs, environmental needs, what was important to them, activities, personal care, relationships, goals and aims. Support plans included clear guidance to assist staff to involve the person and help them with everyday decisions. For example, how best to present information and ways to help the person understand. We saw people's care and support plans were reviewed to account for any personal or health changes. People had a vast range of activities and events available to them and choice to participate in if they wished. These activities prompted people’s independence and wellbeing.

People were empowered to share their views and opinions on the service and any changes they would like. Residents’ meetings provided valuable feedback to the manager who acted on their suggestions. These avenues provided people with the opportunity to have choice and control in their lives. People were fully supported to understand their rights because there were lots of leaflets, posters and contact numbers available for anyone that needed support. There were easy read formats of all documents available.

Staff had an exceptional understanding of protecting and respecting people's human rights ensuring they were able to make decisions about their support, treatment, and wellbeing. Staff received training about equality and diversity. One staff member told us, "We make sure everyone has the control they need to make decisions and choices about their care. It’s all about giving people the right to make their own decisions and respecting their choices even if we don't agree.”

We observed staff encouraging people to make their own drinks and get their own snacks. We saw photographs of people being supported to clean their rooms and the house, cooking, work in the garden and do their own shopping.

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.

Where people had limited communication skills to communicate verbally, we observed genuine interactions between staff and people, which demonstrated relationships were caring and compassionate. This enabled staff to anticipate and meet people’s needs quickly and in ways that reduced and mitigated people’s discomfort and distress.

We observed people did not need to wait for support when they needed it from the staff team. As a result people felt safe and comfortable having their needs met very promptly. The way in which people’s immediate needs had been supported had led to people feeling safe and comfortable and achieve great outcomes.

Care plans contained evidence regarding optician and hearing appointments. People who had PEG feeding were supported with any complications promptly. Staff spoke to people with familiarity, and it was clear they knew people well and understood what their needs were. One professional said, “If [person] is feeling unwell in anyway, staff contact the GP or 111 regarding this. [Person] has medication and creams that staff make sure that [person] takes.”

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

People fully benefited from a staff team who had regular opportunities to provide feedback about the service, raise any concerns and give their views about how to improve the service. For example, 1 staff member said, "Our manager is very approachable, their door is always open, and they are always there to listen to our ideas and views and thoughts." Another staff member said, “The manager cares about us. They listen to us.” A third member of staff commented, "We have so many opportunities to talk with our manager and feedback. We have supervisions and team meetings. We also have a what’s app group. We are a small service, so we talk all the time."

There was a strong organisational commitment and effective action to ensure there was equality and inclusion across the workforce. The provider had implemented a range of initiatives to promote staff wellbeing and recognise good practice. Staff incentives were in place to nominate and award staff who had gone above and beyond in providing quality care to people. Recognising individual contributions helped to promote a positive culture where staff felt appreciated and motivated. Staff told us that seeing their work acknowledged gave them a sense of pride. This in turn supported staff retention and helped maintain a consistent, stable and motivated workforce, which directly benefited the people using the service. Staff told us the training they received was comprehensive and high quality. Staff felt very well supported through regular supervisions, meetings and the training they received.