Birch Green 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.

This is the first assessment for this 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 80 (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 were kind and caring. A relative said, “The staff here look after my [relative] like their own family, she couldn't be better cared for. My [relative] is treated with the upmost respect and dignity even more so around her personal care, and if there's something going on like an entertainer or singer, she has a special chair, and they will bring her down.” Another relative said, “Staff here are all kind and caring; we are always made to feel welcome even down to the grandchildren. They can come in and often take part in the activities.”

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.

Care plans included information about people’s personal, cultural, social and religious needs.

A person said, “I have my children come to visit me, but I can speak up for myself; I am an independent lady and staff treat me as such, they talk to me like an equal, I am one of them and they treat me with respect.”

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

Staff said they promoted choice for example over meal options, and other daily routines, which relatives agreed with. A relative said, “Staff do their best to give [my relative] choices as what to eat and they try to encourage her to eat herself; sometimes they leave her food with her.”

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 responding to people in a timely manner and they had good knowledge about ways to reassure people and help prevent distress. Staff responded to call bells in a timely way and people said they received their medicines when they needed them.

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

There was an employee wellbeing policy, and the provider had several ways to show they valued staff and enhanced staff wellbeing. Some examples included, ‘employee of the month’, and staff were given a financial reward. The provider organised staff parties, and for staff that could not attend, they organised an alternative, such as a takeaway delivered to their home. During ‘national nurses day’, the provider gifted items to their nurses and all staff were given vouchers at Christmas time.

The management team regularly thanked staff for their work and commitment to the role. Staff said the managers supported them with their personal situations, and could raise any concerns they had in an open and transparent manner.