April Court

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 means 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.

People knew staff and called them by name. They told us staff were kind to them.

Relatives described staff as "lovely", describing them as treating people kindly and with respect.

Staff spoke about people respectfully, in a way that suggested they cared about them. They knew people well and understood how they liked staff to interact with them.

The service had received feedback from an external organisation about the professional and friendly approach of staff.

Staff took time to engage with people meaningfully. They respected people’s privacy and ensured their dignity was maintained.

People told us staff supported them according to their wishes and preferences. A relative described how staff respected and treated people as individuals, rather than "patients".

Staff had a detailed understanding of people's individual needs and preferences. They understood what people hoped for and wanted to achieve.

People were supported to go to places of worship as they wished.

People had their communication needs met. Staff communicated with them effectively.

Staff treated people as individuals.

Care plans reflected people's personal, cultural, social and religious needs. They also stated people's preferences in relation to their care.

Care plans clearly explained people's communication needs and any support they needed with expressing preferences and making choices.

People told us about seeing families and friends and looking forward to visits from them. People also told us about the activities they enjoyed and holidays they had enjoyed.

People had visitors as and when they wished. People with families were encouraged and supported to keep in touch with them as they wished, whether visiting them, having them visit, or through telephone and video calls.

Staff respected people's choices regarding personal relationships, providing both parties were able to consent to this. Where staff were concerned that someone might not understand the implications of being intimate or in a relationship with someone, they involved the community learning disability team to support the person. The service was registered for 18 people but accommodated a maximum of 17. This was in case a couple needed to share the larger room.

Staff recognised the importance of people learning and becoming confident in new skills and developing their independence.

Staff encouraged people to do as much as they could for themselves. They celebrated people when they had achieved something. People had any adaptive equipment they needed, such as specialist crockery and cutlery to promote their independence.

The atmosphere at April Court was vibrant, with people involved in a range of activities at the service and in the wider community. People also enjoyed down time, for example watching and singing along to Abba videos.

Care plans reflected people's wishes and promoted their independence. They included the activities people enjoyed and wanted to take part in. People regularly spoke with their key workers about activities and things they would like to try doing.

People were happy with the level of support they received, as were their relatives. They told us they had support when they needed it.

Staff prioritised people's needs, wishes and comfort. Knowing people well helped them anticipate when people might need support to avoid experiencing preventable discomfort or distress.

Staff were quick to recognise when people needed support and provided this promptly. They noticed indications that people might be getting upset or worried and supported them calmly and unobtrusively, helping them settle.

Staff had regular 1:1 supervision with someone more senior. They found this supportive.

Staff felt able to approach the management team if they were concerned about something or were experiencing challenges because of their personal situations. Staff praised the management team for respecting their diversity, treating them kindly and fairly.

The service provided placements for students studying health and social care. The registered manager and staff team ensured this was constructive and rewarding, for the students and for people living at April Court.

Staff had regular supervision, discussing the impact their work was having on them and any training and development needs.