Merlin Court 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 good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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 were happy with the care they received. They said staff were helpful, friendly and caring. Comments about the staff included, “They are gentle with me, they talk to me about my clothes I tend to say, ‘you choose’, but they get stuff out and ask me. We get the same staff, I feel comfortable with them”, “The staff are nice” and “There is not one carer I doubt, and [person] is happy with all of them.”

We observed staff interacting with people respectfully and being mindful of people’s privacy. Staff were discrete with some support and used their knowledge of people’s needs to support communication. Terminology in people’s care records was respectful and encouraged staff to promote people’s dignity.

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 records included information on their strengths, likes, dislikes and preferences. One person said, “They [staff] know me quite well now and know my likes and dislikes.” There was a key worker system. Staff were allocated to work more closely with people and get to know them and family members in more detail.

If people had spiritual or cultural needs this was respectfully recorded. There was a regular communion service for people to attend if they wished.

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 activity plans on notice boards around the service which informed people what was taking place. People also had their own personal copy which helped them decide what activity to join in. We observed a variety of activities taking place which included, visits from local children, musical entertainment and quizzes.

People said there was plenty for them to do. People enjoyed the activities on offer and felt able to join in or not. People were supported to maintain important relationships. There was no restriction on visitors, and we observed people enjoying visits from friends and relatives.

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.

If people experienced distress, there was information in their care plans for staff to know and understand how to respond. There were specific details such as if people were more active in the morning or later in the day. This helped staff know when was best to approach people without raising people’s anxiety levels. Leaders had reached out to specialist healthcare professionals for advice and guidance. If they had requested any behaviour monitoring this was being completed.

The registered manager monitored call bell information. A monthly report was produced which recorded how quickly people’s call bells were being answered. The registered manager said their expected response time was within 5 minutes. Any longer response times were investigated to determine causes. People told us staff responded to their calls in a timely way. Comments from people included, “I am happy here with [call bell], they [staff] are quick to come” and “They [staff] come in minutes, quite quick. I buzz and they come.”

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

The provider had a variety of systems for staff wellbeing. Staff had access to them via an electronic application which they could easily access on their phones. This included help with mental health, physical health and financial support.

People, relatives and staff could nominate a member of staff for an ‘employee of the month’ award. Winners received a small voucher to thank them for their work.

The provider considered flexible working requests for staff, for example, if staff needed support because of childcare arrangements or health needs. Leaders recognised staff struggled at times with public transport getting to and from work. In response, they employed a driver for the minibus which helped staff get to and from work.