Highfield 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 was treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

There was an extremely friendly and relaxed atmosphere throughout the home. We observed staff supported people in an unhurried and respectful way. Staff were very friendly, polite and pleasant. They treated people with empathy and compassion and spoke fondly about the people they supported. They also spoke about how nice it was to welcome new people.

People spoke about how staff respected them and made them feel comfortable and at home. They told us staff were nice, caring, kind and helpful and that they trusted staff. A relative said, “I can’t personally believe how lucky [person] is to be here. I have every confidence, that they are doing the best they can for [person]. I can’t fault them in any way.” People said of staff, “They are very nice, kind, considerate and pleasant”, “They are very kind and caring. [2 staff names] are wonderful. They do everything they can for the people here” and “The staff are incredible; they are very patient and kind. They really listen and are really great.” Another person said, “Everyone is so pleasant and accessible. Nothing is too much trouble, their time is your time.”

The provider treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The provider took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. People’s individuality and personal, cultural, social and religious needs were understood, valued and respected.

People spoke very positively about how the service recognised and valued them as individuals and celebrated their individuality. Staff had taken the time to really get to know people and to ensure they had a range of activities that helped them maintain interests and skills. One staff member said, “I love how much you know about residents and working with people. It’s like a second family.”

Managers and staff placed great importance on helping people to maintain family and social relationships. This also included opportunities for people to remain part of their local or wider communities.

‘One off’ events were arranged for individuals based on their interest or wishes. One person missed being around horses; staff had arranged for a horse to be brought to the home so the person could feed and stroke it. Another person liked scooters, and a local scooter club had visited with their scooters. A group of people had visited a local public house that one person knew well and which they had previously been a regular visitor of. Photos and comments seen showed this had a really positive impact for the people.

People said of the activities, “We had an activity yesterday. [Staff member] took us to the Golf Club for coffee it was very nice. [Staff member] goes the extra mile. [Staff member] makes you feel at ease…. is supportive, very understanding and knowledgeable. It makes you feel like part of the family. We go to the cinema and we get lemonade, coca cola, sweets and popcorn, its great and nothing is too much trouble” and “We have been to the primary school and the nursery school comes here. They put food out; it was some kind of celebration. One child wanted to have a penfriend, and I have done this, which is nice. I have been upstairs doing painting. They get you chatting about things, it’s good.”

Another person said, “We go outside on little trips, to the school near here or the little tots come here, it can be quite pleasant. We have been to the (Public House) and went for afternoon tea at the Golf Club, we enjoyed it, it was good company. A lady from church comes in once a month and we have a service. There is a little bus to take us out which is quite nice. They have hand massages on the top floor today.”

Staff also respected where people wanted time to themselves. One person said, “There is a weekly sheet with activities on. I don’t do any, it’s just my choice. I like to look out the window and watch the rabbits, hedgehogs and squirrels, it’s lovely.”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Managers and staff respected people’s choices and acted to maintain and promote people’s independence.

People told us, “I can do quite a lot for myself, they do help me with things that I can’t do. They are very nice”, “They don’t treat me like I am just about to fall over, they treat me respectfully” and “I can see to myself a lot of the time. They have twigged on to what I can do and what I can’t. They know I need help in the shower. They will let me do what I can and help me, if I need it.”

People also spoke about how their privacy was respected. They said, “I can go to bed when I want to, I usually come to my room after my meal and my friend comes and we have a chat before we go to bed, which is nice” and “I have a kettle in my room and when I get up I can make a drink which is very nice.”

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. People told us they usually received support from staff in a timely manner if they used the staff call system in their rooms. People said, “You don’t have to wait very long, if you call them” and “They do everything you want, they are excellent.”

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. There was a strong focus on the well-being, support and development of staff. Recent developments that were aimed at ‘keeping staff supported, satisfied, and engaged in their roles’ had resulted in improvements in staff retention at the home. These included welcome bags, enhanced communication, and flexible work arrangements. Staff spoke very positively about the registered manager and the support and encouragement they received. They said, “[Registered manager] is supportive work wise and personally, he supports with professional development” and “The culture is nice, everyone seems to get on.”