The Heathers

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 newly registered service. 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 70 (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.

The provider, and all staff we saw, treated people with kindness and respect. We saw staff gently attending to people, brushing their hair and talking kindly and calmly to them. People could not always remember staff names, but they knew staff by sight and told us they were kind. People told us they liked the staff. One person said, “I like them all, especially that blonde one, but they are all good.”

We saw positive staff interactions and staff knew how to support people.

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.

People took part in residents’ meetings to discuss choices around activities and food in the home. The activities coordinator told us how they planned to change the conservatory to expand its use as a quiet reading area for people who might not wish to be involved in the louder activities. People had a choice about the food they ate.

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

Some people living at The Heathers were living with dementia. Staff knew people well and were able to support them to make choices wherever possible. People received visitors and were supported by staff to go out if they wished. Staff told us people were able to go out with staff at least once a fortnight if they chose. A person told us how he went out and liked to visit a local café. Posters throughout the home reminded people of their rights and the care they could expect.

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.

Staff responded promptly to alarms. Some people had movement alarms in their rooms to alert staff if people got up. When triggered staff responded within minutes to check people were safe and if they needed help. We saw staff use distraction and comforting conversation to minimise a person’s distress. A staff member said, “When a resident is distressed, I listen to them patiently and try to understand what is upsetting them. I offer comfort, sometimes by making them a cup of tea.”

The provider cared about the wellbeing of their staff but did not always support or enable staff to deliver consistent high-quality care.
Staff we spoke with were happy to work at The Heathers and told us they thought the provider was trying to improve the care there. A staff member said, “I have regular discussions with the manager about utilising my role and how he can support me to do this.”
However, some staff told us there were not enough staff which affected their ability to deliver better care. Comments included, “While management treats staff well, as a carer I am often forced to take on many tasks beyond my usual responsibilities such as laundry and washing dishes” and “I really think going back to three healthcare assistants and one senior would make a big difference. It would help us stay on top of care, cleanliness, and give us more time to support residents properly. The provider was open to feedback and was committed to making service improvements. However, this will take time to be addressed and embedded in the service.