Alice 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 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.

Staff had training in relation to dignity and respect. This training was completed the second month after starting work, with refresher training provided annually. The staff supported people with their religious choices.

Staff respected people’s privacy, dignity and supported their independence. One staff member said, “We always see if they can do things for themselves first. If they struggle, we offer to help,” Another staff member told us: “We encourage people to do personal care themselves.” We spoke to people and relatives about if they felt privacy and dignity was maintained. One relative told us, “My dad always looks clean and shaven. I feel they look after him well and he looks well cared for.”

The home had a ‘resident of the day’ system where staff reviewed the chosen person’s care plan to ensure information reflected their needs, choices, and preferences. The person was also made to feel extra special by the staff. We observed staff cared for people with dignity and compassion. Staff had a comprehensive understanding of people’s needs.Staff told us how they ensured people’s dignity was respected and how they worked to help people maintain their independence.

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.

Staff knew people and their life histories well and understood their likes and dislikes. People’s electronic care plans were up to date, personalised and contained detailed information about their strengths, weaknesses likes and dislikes, and how they preferred staff to meet their care needs and wishes. These were updated regularly and when people’s needs changed. The provider has identified some people’s daily records, needed improvement. This was to make them more person centred. The senior staff were supporting to train the staff, on improving to write in a person-centred approach.

People told us they were cared for with empathy and by staff who were caring. One person told us, “The staff are so kind, they check on me regularly and ask if I need anything. They are always gentle, couldn’t be nicer.”

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

There was no single policy for people about relationships, but this was looked at for each person individually. Relationships and safety were assessed for each person, and people told us visitors were always welcomed.

Meal options were shown to people so they could see the choice in person. We observed 1 person declining both options, staff spoke with them clearly and offered a third option, which was accepted.

Some people had a preference in terms of care staff they preferred to receive care from; this was detailed in their care records.The staff explained when helping people get dressed that they would offer options and see what the person wanted to wear.The registered manager gave us examples of how they promoted people’s independence. They had supported a person with declining eyesight, who was initially receiving one-to-one care. Through encouraging the person, the support required was reduced to daytime only and then to observational only to promote independence.

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.

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 and caring manner. Our observations evidenced that staff and people at the home knew each other well, this supported staff to respond to people quickly and efficiently, particularly where people had limited or alternative methods of communication.

Staff told us handover meetings took place to ensure the staff on duty could monitor and respond to people’s needs. One staff member told us, “Handovers are much more structured. We discuss all the resident’s wellbeing,” The registered manager understood their responsibilities in ensuring people’s immediate needs were responded to. They had systems and processes in place to support this and had oversight of people’s needs.

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

Staff said they felt very supported by the management team. One staff member said, “I have supervision with my manager, we meet regularly and discuss a range of topics.” Important updates and information were displayed for the staff to read. Handovers and staff meetings were an opportunity to share information.

The provider had implemented a wellbeing lead, who was a member of staff that worked at the home. The staff were able to speak to the lead about any concerns they had, which affected them. They were also encouraged to speak up through the wellbeing lead along with the registered manager and deputy.