Bassett 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.

We observed staff treating people with kindness and being respectful in their approach. Staff knew people well and demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of people’s needs. Staff from all departments interacted with people positively, communicating with people in various ways. For example, 1 person had a doll they used for comfort. This person wanted staff to engage with the doll which the staff member did. This respected the person’s dignity.

People and relatives told us the staff were kind. Comments included, “They [staff] are pretty good here, they are very kind. They are lovely people and try to get [person] involved” and “The carers are really lovely.”

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.

People’s care plans contained detailed information on how to support people which included information on their individual preferences. People’s religious needs were recorded where appropriate. We observed local clergy visiting the service to carry out communion for people who wished to participate. Staff ensured people who liked to stay in their rooms also had communion in line with their preferences.

Some people did not have as much information recorded on their life history. However, the service was in the process of migrating all care records from paper to an electronic system. This enabled staff to review people’s care plans and update records with further information. Staff demonstrated detailed knowledge of the people they supported and their individual needs.

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

The service welcomed visitors with no restrictions, and we observed people having visits from family and friends.

A dedicated team of activities staff took the lead on organising activities for people to enjoy. This included a mixture of group activities and 1-1 engagement. Staff told us some people preferred to stay in their own rooms but enjoyed 1-1 activities. Activities provided were varied and included crafts, games and activities of daily living such as baking. Monthly ‘residents meetings’ were held to ask people what they wanted to do and what type of activity they would like to see on the weekly plan. We observed an activity plan was displayed around the service and available in text and picture format, to support understanding.

For national holidays such as Christmas, activities were planned for people to enjoy such as carol singing and bell ringing. People were also supported to access the local community for trips out.

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 way. People had call bells in their rooms to request assistance from staff. Where people could not use call bells, staff completed regular welfare checks. We also observed there were staff available in communal area such as lounges and dining rooms to offer support if needed. The service had staff who were employed as ‘resident ambassadors’. Their role was to ensure people were engaged and safe when using communal spaces.

If staff identified people’s needs changed, they communicated with each other to increase observations. For example, staff noticed changes to a person and immediately ensured the person was supported with hourly visits from nursing staff.

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

The provider and the management at the service were available for all staff if needed to support wellbeing. The management at the service said they had an open-door policy for any member of staff to approach them for assistance or to share any ideas for better ways of working. The provider visited the service regularly and knew staff well.

Staff told us they received the support they needed to do their job well. If staff needed any reasonable adjustments to working shifts, the management team considered these and implemented them where possible. The provider had an external human resource company which provided guidance on workplace support for staff.

The registered manager had tried various initiatives to provide support for staff. They said, “We tried wellbeing clinics for staff. We told staff we can talk to you about anything, and we would signpost them to anything they needed. It never really took off, but it is still there for staff if they need it.”