Park 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 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 remains good. This meant people felt well-supported, cared for and treated with dignity and respect.

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 management and staff team treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People told us, and we observed, staff showed kindness and compassion when interacting with people. One person said, “The staff are very good and kind with me.”

People and those important to them were encouraged to maintain relationships. One person said, “My relatives can visit more or less any time, my family come and take me out weekly.” Another person said, “My relatives can come when they like and they are made welcome.” A relative told us, “On New Years Eve I was here till 1am in the morning. You can come when you want, it’s open 24 hours and that’s what it says on the door.” Another relative spoke positively of the care their family member received and told us, “The staff are very good with me, I come every 2-3 weeks, the staff have always got time to speak to me. The staff could not do more for my family member.”

When people had visitors, they were welcomed by the management and staff team. People were enabled to spend time outside of their bedrooms with their visitors. There were private spaces in the home and garden that people could utilise.

The staff team 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 protected characteristics.

During our site visit we observed staff were interacting with people in a meaningful manner with a calm and patient approach.

The management team told us they embraced partnership working to ensure the best outcomes for people. The risk assessment tools used showed best practice in clinical care and support. These included the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), for monitoring weight. We saw these were regularly reviewed and staff understood the related guidance in place for people.

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

People felt their individual choices and preferences were respected. One person said, “I sometimes go out if I have a specific errand to do. I also go to the methodist church. The staff take me if I ask.” Another person said, “It’s a nice place. The activity co-ordinator is brilliant. He takes me out into Bulwell and really puts a lot of effort into his job.” Another person said, “The staff clean my room daily and I have a shower when I wish. I shower myself, but I tell the staff when I want one and they come to check if I am alright.”

We discussed how the management team obtained formal feedback. They advised an annual survey was sent to people and relatives directly from the head office. The management team held a quarterly relatives meeting. We saw actions were recorded as being completed once feedback had been reviewed.

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.

Care records included, how either through verbal or non-verbal means, people were able to refuse or give consent for specific decisions. Staff we spoke with understood people well and could explain how individuals preferred to be approached. One staff member told us, “One person has very specific needs in relation to their sleep pattern. They are a diabetic, and sometimes they are in a really deep sleep. Our nurses will know they could be unwell, so they check blood sugars. We increase the monitoring in place when this happens and offer drinks and snacks to help improve their blood sugar levels.”

People felt confident staff were responsive to their needs at night. One person said, “The staff are different at nights and weekends. If I need them, I call the bell and they come.” Another person said, “There are lots of staff and there are enough at night.”

Where people could not communicate verbally, we observed interactions between staff and people which demonstrated relationships were caring and compassionate. Staff knowledge of people and their identified needs enabled staff to anticipate and meet people’s needs quickly and in ways that reduced and mitigated people’s discomfort and distress.

The management team cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to develop their knowledge and skills.

Feedback from staff was very positive, they told us they felt well supported by the management team. Some staff who had worked at the service for many years, spoke of the improved atmosphere and staff culture created since the registered manager had joined the service.

One staff member told us, “I know the first impressions of the building aren’t very good. I feel like it’s letting us down as a home. All of us work together and we all work so hard and want the best for the people living here whatever our role. The actual building structure is out of our control and out of the management team’s control. I do now feel I can talk openly and honestly, I can knock on the office door and feel free to speak, if you had asked me this before the current manager, I definitely wouldn’t have felt that.”