Archived: Adelaide House 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. At our last assessment of this key question we rated it as 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.

People had developed strong bonds with the staff caring for them. Staff consistently checked on people and adjusted how they cared for them so people would have opportunities to experience well-being, feel valued and enjoy living in the moment. People expressed their affection to staff and staff took time to check on how people felt and to offer reassurance when people wanted or needed it.

People and their relatives described staff as being kind, caring and welcoming. One person told us, “I am happy here and they (staff) are very good to me.” Another person described the home as wonderful and told us, “It is the people who work here. They are kind to us and will do anything for us.” One relative told us, “The staff get on very well together and with visitors too. You get a nice greeting, get offered a drink and they will have a chat with you.” Another relative commented, “Staff are definitely kind and caring and seem happy to be working here. They smile and I haven’t seen anyone looking grumpy.”

One staff member told us they valued being part of a supportive and caring staff team and explained, “It is lovely and relaxed. Everybody gets along and I would say we have good relationships with the residents and their family members which makes it a lot nicer.” A visiting healthcare professional told us, “I have had good experiences here. Staff are friendly and helpful. They are lovely with the residents and with us.”

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, unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

People gave us examples showing how their individual needs and preferences were met. This included support so their religious beliefs were addressed. One person told us they regularly saw a priest and said, “It’s a comfort.” Another person said it made a difference because staff always acknowledged them as an individual and said hello.

Staff knew about people’s social histories, and what mattered to them. One staff member told us, “I like it when you can make a difference with the residents. Some don’t have family and don’t get any visitors, so it is important to be there for them. It is about giving them a better life and a better day.” Another staff member explained, “They are all different and unique and have their own personal needs, so they all get looked after differently.”

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

Staff supported people to do things they enjoyed such as playing dominoes, dancing, hand pampering sessions and singing. We saw this made a material difference to people’s enjoyment and quality of life. One person told us, “We play games and things together, they are quite good actually.” Another person told us they valued being able to make a choice about how they spent their time and told us, “It is very quiet which is how I like it. I am a loner, and I feel safe here. I read a lot and get engrossed in my books.” Relatives’ comments included: “There is a lovely garden. There is singing and crafts at a level that suits [Name]” and “For activities they have a singer. [Name] enjoys music and having people around. She gets her nails painted and likes getting her hair done.” A visiting health and social care professional said, “Staff interact appropriately with people with dementia, know about sundowning and have incorporated exercise and dance into the activities in the lounge.”

Staff explained how they supported people to keep in touch with others who were important to them. This included ensuring people had opportunities to spend time away from the home with their relatives as they wanted to. One relative told us, “I can see the results of the care [Name] is receiving. We were really happy when they celebrated our diamond wedding anniversary and [Name’s] 90th birthday.”

People’s care plans informed staff where people continued to enjoy independence, including when eating and drinking, and guided staff to work at people’s pace so people were supported to maintain their independence safely.

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 told us staff were usually very responsive to their needs. One person told us, “Carers are always there, and when you press the buzzer, they do come very quickly.” Comments from relatives included: “Call bells are responded to in reasonable time” and “As soon as [Name] asks for something, it’s there.”

Staff ensured there was always a staff member present in the communal lounge. This meant staff were able to respond quickly to people’s requests for support of if they demonstrated any signs of anxiety or distress. Staff knew if people preferred a kind word or physical reassurance and consistently responded to this. Staff also checked people were happy with the music being played and frequently offered people drinks, based on their choices. Staff regularly checked on those people who were cared for in bed or who chose to stay in their bedrooms to ensure their needs were being met and any requests responded to.

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

Staff told us they were supported to provide good care to people and gave examples of how their shift patterns had been altered at their request to meet their own well-being needs. Staff told us they valued working at the home and were appreciated by senior staff and managers.