Woolston 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 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. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People and relatives were positive about the way staff treated them. Comments included, “They are good staff here. They can't do enough for you” and “(Name) is amazing, but I do get on with all the staff. I have made a lot of friends here.”

People had built effective relationships with staff. We observed staff knocking on bedroom doors before entering and supporting people in a dignified and patient manner.

Feedback indicated there were occasional issues with laundry items becoming lost. The registered manager told us they were arranging more effective labeling methods for people’s clothing.

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.

People’s care plans included information about their social, cultural and spiritual needs. Where a person’s preference was to be supported only by female staff, this was respected. Staff considered people’s communication needs and the registered manager demonstrated how staff were communicating more effectively with a person by using a white board, which had improved their engagement.

People were supported to understand their rights and were encouraged to make choices about their care and support. Staff told us they respected people’s wishes. One staff member said, “We go with what they resident wants.” We saw most people’s bedrooms were very personalised. They had been involved in decisions about redecoration.

Staff supported people to maintain important relationships. One person commented, “They do help us to maintain relationships.” People were able to visit without any restrictions in place and staff supported visits to see family members or go out into the community.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and well-being.

Feedback indicated staff supported people’s choices and encouraged their independence. One person told us, “I have my independence, I can get up and go to bed when I want to.” Care plans included information to promote independence and ensure people were included in decision making. The registered manager was arranging for a washing machine to be installed within one of the units to enable people to do their own laundry, at their request.

Equipment was provided to support people’s independence, such as enabling a person to use a phone and manage their television. Care plans and case studies demonstrated how therapy input had enabled people to become more independent.

Most people were positive about the activities on offer. Activities and events were planned, with some people having individual plans. One person said, “We do activities here. Yesterday was a great day, we went to the park, then we made flap jacks in the afternoon and then there was a resident meeting later.” However, others felt more activities could be available. A relative said, "I don't think they do enough activities. They have spates where some days are busy but then there’s nothing for a while.”

A new life‑skills team member had been appointed and had already introduced some positive changes. A pool table and games had been bought following feedback, and another team member had since been recruited.

Various events were held, and people were supported to go out into the community. The team were focused on the development of meaningful activities and skills across the age ranges, including outings with people.

The provider always listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff always responded to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Some people reported waiting for assistance and were concerned recent changes could mean staff were not always available when needed.

We saw staff responded to people in a timely way. The registered manager confirmed people’s dependency needs were considered, and one‑to‑one support was commissioned where required.

We found staff were responsive to people’s needs and they understood how people liked to be supported. In one example, staff had developed strategies to help to communicate and respond more effectively with a person. We observed a staff member supporting a person in distress, with skill and care.

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

Staff were positive about the support they received. Comments included, “It is a pleasure to work in an environment where staff feel appreciated and supported in delivering high-quality care” and “I feel like they support us, any concerns they make an effort.”

The provider was focused on upskilling staff and supporting their development. Various reward and incentive schemes were available. Staff surveys were undertaken with actions taken in response shared with them. This included a system for staff to reflect on how they felt after each shift, to help identify any themes or trends.