Archived: The Chantry

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 inspection under the previous provider this key question was rated good. At this assessment, the rating remains 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.

People and their relatives told us staff treated them with kindness, compassion and dignity. Comments included, “The staff are lovely and always do their best. If I ask for something, they’ll oblige if they can. Everyone is helpful”, “One to one, staff are caring and respectful.” And “Most staff are very friendly and lovely and engage with [name of person]. They speak nicely to them.”

Staff knew and understood people. One member of staff told us, “People are getting a good service and are surrounded by staff who really care about them, a lot of our staff view people holistically.” The registered manager told us, “I see a lot of good here, I am out on the floor speaking to people and staff and getting a hug from relatives telling me ‘I can see what your about’ feels like an achievement.”

Professionals feedback regarding the service were complimentary. One told us, “Staff are caring, any historical cultural issues have been managed out of the service.”

During our on-site assessment we observed staff were caring, appeared warm, friendly and treated both people and their relatives with dignity and respect. People appeared happy and relaxed in their environment.

The provider had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. Staff listened to concerns about safety and reported safety events. Staff knew where to record incidents and accidents and told us they had discussed learning when things went wrong. However, staff were not always able to provide specific examples of what they had learnt or what changes had been made as a result. Processes needed to be improved to ensure lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. Staff meetings were recorded, team huddles were undertaken twice daily, the provider held an accident/incident overview and although it identified any themes/trends for lessons learned, it was not clear as to how this information was shared with staff in a more formal capacity.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. There were effective systems in place to ensure people received care which promoted their independence, choice and control. People’s care plans reflected what they could manage independently and what support they may require in other areas of their daily lives. For example, one person’s care plan read, “I enjoy social interaction and activities and would like to be supported to attend. I can make simple decisions for example choosing my choice of clothes.”

Overall people/relatives we spoke with told us staff supported them or their loved one to have choice and control over their own care and were encouraged to make decisions about how their support was provided wherever possible.

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.

We observed staff actively engaging with people and working proactively to meet people’s immediate needs. We observed a nurse undertaking their routine daily observations of people such as blood pressure monitoring. One person told us, “The staff are lovely and always come quickly when I call them, I really enjoy the cooking activity on a Thursday. The GP visits every week; it is better than being at the hospital.” A relative told us, “The longstanding staff members are amazing- wonderful with [person]. We have some banter and it’s a friendly relationship. They (staff) will listen to any request I have.”

Staff told us the provider had not always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff. Whilst the majority of staff we spoke with felt this had improved and they had begun to feel more valued and supported in their roles, some staff were still feeling undervalued. Comments included, “I don’t believe the care staff are valued. Work expects you to turn up get the work done and go home. If there is ever a quiet period, we’re not able to sit and chat with other carers as we have to keep working”, “We get free chips on a Friday as a show of appreciation. They (senior management team) also had a spa day booked where you could get massages for free.” And “I have 3 monthly meetings with my line manager but will also arrange more when needed.

There is good teamwork. Other units come and help. I worked in other care homes and this did not happen. Staff here work as a team.”

The registered manager told us, “It is important to say thank you to people/staff, acknowledge what they do. I always take treats around. I try to do nice surprises, like a shout out on a Friday to help yourself to fish and chips. We have also had a staff appreciation day; staff had a meal. We hold monthly internal staff nominations; it is about celebrating success. I see you, I hear you.”