Franklin 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 service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

This is the first assessment of the service with this registered provider. 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 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff treated people with kindness, compassion and respect. People and their relatives told us they liked the staff. Their comments included, “I am very happy here. Staff are kind and friendly. They do a good job” and “I get along with all of them.”

We saw staff supporting people in a considerate and gentle way. Staff were respectful and used people’s preferred names, pronouns and form of address. People were relaxed in the company of staff. Staff had meaningful conversations with people, and we saw them laughing and chatting with people.

People were treated as individuals. Staff knew people well. People’s religious and cultural needs were respected. Managers had arranged for a staff member from another service with the same cultural background to visit and spend time with 1 person who had lost their English language skills. They helped to translate and put together a plan for the person to ensure other staff could communicate with them and meet their needs.

Religious groups and leaders visited the service to support people with prayer and worship. Staff also supported people to attend places of worship. Staff had organised cultural days and supported people to celebrate different festivals and ceremonies.

Staff had started to create memory boxes for people to keep in their rooms for special personal memories. People were able to make wishes on a ‘wish tree.’ Staff did their best to support people to fulfil these by taking part in a personalised activity or providing resources the person requested.

Staff supported people who identified as LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) to feel welcome and included. A person had written to the provider to say, “During my time at Franklin House I have become more comfortable talking about [my identity]. I built up trust with staff and was able to disclose my true self.”

Staff knew people well. A staff member told us, “We are encouraged to build real relationships with our residents. We don't just focus on tasks, we take time to chat, learn about their lives, and make sure they are comfortable.”

People were supported to be independent when possible. Staff found ways to enable people. For example, by providing equipment, such as specialist cutlery and cups. A relative explained staff had colour-coded a person’s hearing aid which supported them to manage which ears to put these in.

People were supported to make choices. We saw staff offering visual choices about food, drink and activities to help people better understand the choices being offered.

Staff responded to people’s immediate needs. We observed staff being attentive. They quickly recognised when people needed something or showed signs of distress. They offered appropriate support in a respectful way.

Relatives told us staff identified and took appropriate action when people became unwell.

The provider supported staff wellbeing. Staff took part in regular meetings with their manager, undertook a range of training and could access additional support organised by the provider. For example, confidential helpline services.

Staff were supported to learn new skills and develop in their careers. For example, some care workers had undertaken nursing qualifications whilst working at the service and were promoted to qualified nurses on completing of their training. Other care workers, kitchen and domestic staff had been promoted to senior positions within the home.

Staff told us they felt supported. A staff member commented, “The supervision here is very good. Managers are approachable. We are not just learning skills but understanding how to truly care for our residents.”