Chestnut Court & Beechwood Court (Care Outlook)

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 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 70 (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 said they were treated with kindness, compassion and dignity by the staff who supported them. One person told us, “The carers are really good. They are kind, caring and good at their job. They are good socially and it makes your day. They are bubbly and it put me in a good frame of mind for the day.” Relatives agreed and said, “The carers are fine and are there to look after [family member]. They are friendly and lovely. [Family member] is very pleased with the carers” and “The carers are very caring, helpful and kind. They always have time to chat to you. They’re really really good. We get consistent carers. There isn’t much turnover.”

The staff spoke kindly about the people they supported. A member of staff told us, “Yes, it’s a lovely place to work. I enjoy making a difference in people’s life.”The provider kept a log of compliments and commendations they had received from people and relatives.

Healthcare professionals felt people were supported by a kind and caring team. One professional told us, “In my experience, the staff and management team at Chestnut Court are always very professional, supportive and responsive to patient's needs.”

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. However, whilst emails and memos contained important details in relation to people’s care, such as change of medicines, information about their health or care needs, they never referred to people by their names but by their flat number. We discussed this with the management team who agreed this seemed impersonal, and would take appropriate action.

People’s care plan contained information about their background, including family life, working life and what was important to them. They also contained information about their social interests and hobbies, skills and strengths.

The registered manager and staff knew people as individuals and were committed to ensuring people were treated as such.This included in relation to their faith and sexuality.

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

People’s aspirations, choices and independence were encouraged and promoted. One person told us, “I’m involved in all decisions. I tell them things that I need to be done. I speak to the care co-ordinator, and [they] put it on the list of things that I need help for. I have a care plan. It was reviewed in 2024. It was reviewed last year again when I didn’t need a hoist.”

People’s personal, cultural, social and religious needs were recorded in their care plans and respected. Care plans included their biography, preferred activities and what made them happy and fulfilled. The housing department organised a range of activities and external entertainers and people were encouraged to join.

Relatives felt involved in the care of their family members and consulted. Their comments included, “[Family member’s] needs were discussed with us before [they] moved in. They told us what they could do. It worked out just as they said” and “An assessment was made on what needs [family member] had and how to apply for finance. I’m kept in the loop. After [their health concern], reviews have been done to look at [their] changed needs.”

The provider told us they listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Although staff always aimed to respond to people’s needs in the moment and act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress, some staff told us this was not always possible, because of their workload. A staff member told us, “In a 15-minute call, we often have to squeeze 30 minutes’ worth of care and are still expected to count all the medications, we are simply human.”

We fed this back to the registered manager, who explained that people’s needs are regularly reviewed and care hours adapted as needed. However, they would address this in the next staff meeting.

Despite these comments, people and relatives were mostly happy with the care their received, and felt their needs were met in line with their wishes. Their comments included, “Carers come quickly enough and are pretty good on the whole”, “[Family member] is very happy with the service and has been much better since being here”, “They make the time to chat and are my window to the outside world” and “Yes, they do treat [family member] with respect and dignity. They listen to what [they are] saying.” However, most people and relatives thought there needed to be more staff on night duty. This was discussed previously in this report.

During the initial assessment, people were informed how they could contact emergency services themselves, and this was detailed in the ‘Service User Guide’ they were provided with. The registered manager told us, “People who do not have the ability or a phone to make the call themselves are made aware that this is what they should use the call bell system for.”

People told us call bells were usually answered promptly, and staff would always take the time to check they were okay and offer assistance. A relative stated, “[Family member] is happy and safe. Staff are always available if [they] press the call button.”

Most of the staff felt supported and spoke of being a good team. They told us the management team cared about them and took any suggestion seriously. Their comments included, “if you are concerned the managers are there to help you”, It’s a very good place to work, everyone is friendly and supportive” and “I do feel supported in my role.”

The management team spoke positively about the staff team. There were systems in place to identify if staff had any specific health or wellbeing needs. The registered manager told us they had regular chats to staff and thanked them for their hard work. They said, “I want to give them the opportunity to speak to me. Let me know if they need something and I can help them.”