Restgarth 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 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 70 (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.

Relatives told us staff were kind in their approach. Comments included, “Sometimes [my relative] gets agitated and [manager name] and the staff have a lovely way of talking with [pronoun] and they can diffuse the situation really well.”
We observed staff supporting people at lunch time. They were friendly and supportive in their approach, responding quickly to requests for support. When talking with staff they spoke positively about people. One commented, “[Name] will win your heart over.”

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.

Some people took comfort from specific items when they were distressed or anxious. Staff ensured they always had access to these. We observed people engaging with the items and clearly taking pleasure from them.
Relatives told us staff knew people well and had a good understanding of their needs. Comments included, “They know [my relative] can be unpredictable and sing to calm them down” and “[My relative’s] a bit of a character, comes across a bit rude when trying to be funny, but they get [pronoun] and are genuinely fond of them.”

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.

During the assessment we received information some people were being supported to get up and dressed in the early hours of the morning to alleviate pressure on day staff. This was investigated by a manager who confirmed the practice had been occurring. The people concerned had not been asked if they wanted to get ready for the day at this time. There was no information in care plans to indicate this was acceptable to people or their preferred routine. Following the assessment managers took immediate action to address this. This included completing unannounced spot checks during the night as well as supervisions and competency checks with staff.

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.

Call bell audits were completed and these showed staff responded quickly to any requests for support. During the assessment we heard 1 person calling out for assistance, the manager told us this person often called for help and they were working with the GP to try and identify if there was any underlying cause for their distress. Staff always responded to the person and offered reassurance. A relative commented, “I’ve noticed particularly lately that when [relative] changes, they quickly put new things into place.”

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 they were well supported and managers were understanding of any commitments they had outside of work. There was an on-call system and a member of staff told us of an occasion when they had needed to speak to the on-call manager several times during a shift. They told us, “I rang [Name] and they helped me throughout the day. They were very patient.”