West Wood 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.
At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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 to be kind and compassionate. We observed a person living in the environment spontaneously take the hand of a staff member and start dancing and the staff member automatically joined them. Staff were polite and caring and always offering to support people. Feedback we received from people and their relatives echoed this. A person told us. “Over caring sometimes, they’ll come back and say you sure you’re, ok? would you like me to do this or do that?” And a relative told us “They are kind and caring. They are really good.”

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. We observed people were treated as individuals in the service. At lunchtime in the dining room, staff knew people that wanted to sit in their regular place and people that had no preference were always asked where they would like to sit. We observed a staff member speak to a new person in the service and acknowledged immediately they were speaking to the wrong side of the person as they were hard of hearing, they apologised and moved to the other side and positioned themselves more clearly for that individual.

People were encouraged to bring items from home into the service, and 1 person had their own paintings displayed on the wall in their bedroom. A person told us, “[Staff] leave you alone and they don't if you need them, they are there but it is not forced upon you.” Another person said, “I like big portions of food and if the kitchen dish my food up. I hear staff say, extra for [person] and I don’t have to say anything, they know what I like.”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. We found people’s care plans were detailed and informed staff how to support people with their independence. A staff member told us, “I involve people in decisions and encourage them to do daily tasks themselves as much as possible.”

People were in control of their care and support needs and were always given a variety of choices. Relatives told us they could visit when they liked. The activities provided were unique to people’s likes and dislikes, they reflected their lifestyles to ensure the activities arranged were beneficial. The provider encouraged people, staff and relatives to share their hobbies in the service and incorporate these into activities for people. We observed that people were given a variety of choices, when people asked for alternative options of meals they were provided.

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 to be very responsive in the environment. They monitored people closely at mealtimes to ensure people had everything they needed to enjoy their meal. When people came to the front desk, reception staff automatically asked if they needed a taxi or an appointment making. Everyone we spoke with had a call bell within their room and staff responded to people’s needs promptly. A person told us, “I sometimes hear alarm bells go off and staff stop what they are doing and go.”

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. The provider worked closely improving the workforce wellbeing in the service. They had regular supervisions and regular meetings with the workforce to update them with what was happening in the service but also to encourage them to come and raise issues they may have. We found where staff raised concerns, these were looked into and provided with a response. The provider had rolled out several initiatives to support their workforce. Speaking to staff they felt valued in their job role. A staff member told us, “Whenever I communicate with anyone deputy, manager they always show appreciation for doing what I am doing." And another staff member told us “When I raise concerns, I feel listened to. Managers are approachable and respond appropriately.”