Brackenlea 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 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 saw people enjoyed good relationships with the staff who cared for them. People and relatives provided positive feedback. Their comments included, “I’m very very very happy here. Everybody is so helpful and kind,” “Couldn’t be more friendly, like a family, know you by your name, like a second family, so warm, lovely to go there” and “They genuinely care about their residents.”

Staff were seen to treat people with kindness and compassion and to speak with them both positively and gently. We observed there was a good atmosphere in the home. which a health care professional confirmed. We saw staff respected people’s privacy and dignity.

Staff knew the people they supported well. Staff told us they had access to information about people’s history and preferences. Staff spoken with were familiar with people’s personal histories, wishes and preferences.

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 understood and treated people as individuals and ensured their care and support met their needs and preferences. A relative confirmed, “Staff treat [person] as an individual and support [person’s] needs and preferences. Staff totally understand [person].” Another relative told us how staff’s support had enabled their loved one to get their ’confidence back.’ People’s care plans noted their preferences, especially what was important to people, for example about their personal appearance and how staff should support them with this.

People’s care plans documented if they had any communication needs and any assistance they required from staff, such as help with reading correspondence.

People’s religious needs were understood and met. People who wished to, attended Holy Communion at the home and arrangements were in place to include people cared for in bed. A relative confirmed, “A vicar comes in for a service, which my relative really enjoys as she used to go to church.”

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

Staff were heard to speak with people and offer them choices about each aspect of their care. We saw staff asked people what they wanted to eat and drink and then check if people had finished before they cleared their dishes. A relative confirmed people chose to have a bath or a shower whenever they wished.

People were supported to be as independent as possible. We saw staff prompt people to eat and encouraged them to do what they could for themselves. A person said, “I try to do what I can for myself but if I need help, I just ask and someone will help.” Staff confirmed they encouraged people to do what they could.

A relative told us about the home’s summer fete and said, “It was lovely to see all the carers going round to each resident making sure everyone felt involved.” Staff arranged a range of daily activities which people chose whether or not they wanted to participate in. People could participate in group and one to one activities depending on their preferences and care needs.

A person’s care plan noted how important their particular lifelong interest was to them. Staff in response had arranged a special event to celebrate their interest, which the person had particularly enjoyed and still spoke about.

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 had access to their call bells and staff were seen to respond to any call bells promptly. A person said, “I just ring and someone comes straightaway.” Relatives said, ‘there are always staff around.’

Staff told us if people did not communicate verbally, then they watched their facial expression and hand movements to understand what they were saying. This enabled staff to understand peoples’ wishes. Relatives felt any risks in relation to people’s distress were well managed. A relative said, “Staff are always gentle with [person], even when she’s very cross.” We saw there was guidance in people’s’ care plans for staff about how they should respond to any signs of distress.

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

Staff spoken with said they felt valued by the management team. The staff survey results confirmed staff were satisfied with the support received from management. Staff did not raise any concerns.

The provider had an employee of the month award, which was used to recognise and identify good work. The most recent winner had earnt it for their positive attitude at work.