Mill Lodge Residential 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 which was previously registered under a different 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.

The provider treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People spoke positively about how staff treated them. One person told us, “Staff are always around and they always have a smile and time for a chat with you.” We observed interactions between people and staff and saw staff were warm and friendly towards people.

Where staff supported people, they did so with patience and dignity. One person commented, “I’m nicely settled here and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. There’s always someone there when you need them. They respect my privacy. They never barge into my room and always ask if they can come in.”

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.

Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and preferences as well as the things they liked and disliked. One staff member shared, “If you are supporting [person’s name], they are very specific about the cup they drink from, and they like their drink to be hot. If it’s not hot enough, they will give it back to me.” Staff were able to explain the importance of supporting people’s daily routines and told us this was important to people. This included an acknowledgement of the lives people had lived prior to moving to the home and examples were shared with us of how people’s preferred routines were supported. This included drinks preferences, chosen bedtimes and preferences around music and television programmes.

Staff spoke about people with kindness and compassion and shared examples of how they supported people’s diverse needs around faith and religion.

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

People were supported to make their own choices where possible. One person told us, “They always listen to what you have to say.” We saw people made their own decisions about how and where they spent their time, and people moved between spending time in communal spaces or being in their own rooms throughout the day.

People took part in activities that interested them and staff supported them with any hobbies or interests. People’s preferences were supported and if people preferred to spend time in their bedrooms this choice was respected. We observed staff offered people choices throughout the day, including whether they required support with mobility, personal care, and decisions about whether the room temperature was suitable for them. This promoted people’s own decision making and staff resected their choices.

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 and relatives told us staff were responsive to their needs. One person said, “They are always around – if 1 leaves the room, another will replace her. Nothing is too much trouble for them.” A relative commented, “They [staff] call the doctor whenever necessary and always inform me of what’s happening...They are all very caring.”

We observed call bells were answered in a timely way and when people needed support, for example with their mobility, staff were available to provide assistance.

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

Staff were clear about their responsibilities and worked together as a team to meet people’s planned needs as well as responding to requests or changes in people’s health or wellbeing.

Staff told us they were supported by the registered manager and the provider and could approach them with any concerns. They told us they enjoyed their roles, and felt the staff team worked together well. One staff member commented, “Yes, [name of provider] and the manager work well together. If I have any queries I can go to either of them. I’m happy to speak to either of them.”

Staff shared the enjoyment they got from working with people at the home and told us this was what motivated them. One staff member said, “I get feedback and am appreciated by the residents and their families. We also get feedback from the management sometimes, recognition is important.”