Fernhill Neurological Centre-Inspire Neurocare (Farnborough) Limited

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 told us they were treated with kindness, compassion and dignity and we observed this during our visit. One person told us, “The staff are all very kind and caring, no doubt about that.” Relatives echoed this and said, “The staff are very kind, patient and caring.” and “I'm welcomed here at any time of the day or night, I know them all really well, it has a lovely atmosphere that is friendly and kind.”

The staff were kind and caring and responded to people’s needs promptly and respectfully. We observed the staff to be patient, caring, and displaying genuine affection and respect for people.

However, one relative stated that, although nobody was unkind, the staff did not always spend time with their family member, and did not always understand their needs. We discussed this with the registered manager who told us they had received a number of concerns from this relative and had responded to them and discussed all concerns with the staff team. As a result, things had improved and were continuing to improve. The relative acknowledged this and said, “I have spoken to the manager from time to time, and I do think things are gradually changing, so that is a positive."

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.

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. One person told us, “Amongst the few residents that are here, we are fairly diverse culturally, and as far as I know that is okay, I certainly haven’t heard of any issues.”

Care plans detailed people’s wishes and preferences and we saw evidence the staff knew and respected these. For example, one person who had been in the fitness industry was supported to attend the gym regularly. Their relative told us, “They take [family member] to the gym here which [they] love. It just shows how they've got to know [them]."

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 choices and independence were encouraged and promoted. Their personal, cultural, social and religious needs were understood and respected. One person for whom their faith was important to them was supported to attend religious services and engaged in spiritual routines with their relatives when they visited. Their cultural dietary needs were catered for and respected by staff.

The service offered a rehabilitation flat which people could use. This was very well set out and well equipped for its purpose. During our visit, we saw a person using this facility. They were cooking themselves lunch, the ingredients for which had been supplied by the chef. They told us, “It's very good here. Lovely building, good facilities."

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 supported people in a timely manner.

However, one relative told us they did not think their family member’s needs were always met in line with their wishes and in a timely manner. They told us, “I am not at all happy about the food. My [family member] is on pureed food. I’ve tasted it and it’s completely disgusting. It's about the only pleasure left to [them], and it simply isn’t working. Also, I came into the dining room once, and they were feeding [them] puree, and the carer was simply pushing one spoonful in after another, [they] are at serious risk of choking.”

We discussed this with the registered manager who told us, “A pureed meal can be less appetising, particularly as we tend to eat with our eyes. Our chefs have received formal training in the preparation of modified meals following the international dysphagia diet standardisation initiative (IDDSI) framework. Following a recent swallowing re-assessment this [person’s] meal consistency has been upgraded. They added, “All staff are trained in relation to dysphagia. The SALT team will be asked to carry out some spot checks in relation to supporting residents with swallowing difficulties and provide additional training."

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

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 provider was in the process of developing a staff wellbeing strategy. This looked to introduce a range of activities, support and rewards for staff to help them feel valued and appreciated. A range of ideas had already been put in place. These included a staff suggestion box, celebration of staff’s birthdays, a monthly staff newsletter and a staff recognition scheme whereby each month, a member of staff who displayed one of the company’s values would be nominated and financially rewarded.

Staff felt supported and spoke of being a good team. They told us the management team cared about them and took any suggestion seriously.