Baycroft Flitwick

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 we rated this key question good. At this inspection, 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 65 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff did not always treat people with kindness, compassion, and dignity. We observed some staff did not speak with people whilst they were supporting them to eat and drink. Some staff did not let people know what they were doing whilst they were doing their jobs which may have impacted on people’s enjoyment of their support. For example, using loud equipment whilst people were trying to take part in social opportunities like playing games and listening to music. Some people left the room they were using when staff supported other people with past times that did not interest them. People went for extended periods of time without meaningful engagement from the staff team. One person said, ‘‘I sometimes do get lonely. It can be a little while between having a chat with someone.’’

However, we also observed staff speak kindly with people and treat them with compassion. For example, they spoke with people softly and slowly and spoke with them about how they were feeling. Staff knocked on people’s doors before entering and supported them with privacy and dignity if they needed personal care for. People and relatives felt staff were kind and caring. One relative said, ‘‘All the staff are great and really kind. They are infinitely patient with [family member] to make sure they are as happy as they can be.’’ A person told us, ‘‘[Staff] are the friendliest bunch you could meet. Nothing is too much trouble for them.’’

The provider did not always treat people as individuals and make sure people’s care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. Not all staff knew how to support people’s individual support needs such as knowing how they liked to be prompted to have a drink with a straw, or knowing there was a specific way to make them feel better when they were feeling less happy. It was more difficult to see how people were supported with their preferences if they chose not to take part in the past times on offer in the communal areas. One person said, ‘‘I don’t like taking part in [social past times]. It is not my cup of tea. Staff do try but there is only so much they can offer I think.’’

However, we observed staff talking with people about things that interested them. People had been supported to personalise and decorate their rooms, and staff knew what people liked to eat and drink. One person said, ‘‘[Staff] know and treat me like one of their own family.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘I have not seen [family member] so happy in a long time and I think this is down to how well cared for they are and how well the staff know them.’’

Staff promoted people's independence and asked them to make choices in the majority of the day-to-day areas of their support. For example, staff asked people what they wanted to eat and drink, what they wanted to wear and what time they wanted to be supported with personal care. Staff took their time when they supported people, making sure the person was in control of how they were being supported. People were given the choice as to whether they wanted to leave the service and take part in past times and social opportunities in the community. Staff promoted people’s independence by helping them do as much as they could themselves before helping them at times such as walking around the service or eating meals. One person said, ‘‘I am my own person and staff know this. I still get up early and make a drink for myself and I do things at my own pace.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘[Family member] is needing more and more help as time goes on but the staff change how they help them so they can still do what they can themselves.’’

Staff responded to people's needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern, or distress. For example, we observed a person to be feeling unwell. Staff noticed this and took immediate actions to contact health professionals to support them. Staff told us how they noted changes in people’s support needs and reported this to the management team to make sure care plans and risk assessments were updated. Staff were attentive to people’s needs throughout the day in relation to personal care or making sure they had something to eat and drink. One person said, ‘‘There is always someone about to help you when you need it.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘Whenever we visit, we never have a problem finding someone and I know staff take the time to sit and chat with [family member].’’

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. The majority of staff enjoyed their job roles and told us they felt well supported by the management team. Some staff informed us they did not feel as well supported in some areas of their work. For example, staffing levels when staff phoned in sick or frequent changes in the senior management team. However, they also noted support in these areas had started to improve. Staff were supported to attend meetings and have discussion about their job roles and any help they may need. The management team acknowledged there had been a time a few months ago where staff were not having the opportunity for one-to-one discussions however they had worked on improving this recently. The management team took time to share staff success, and this was celebrated through ways such as an ‘employee of the month.’