Harpwood House

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 65 (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. Most people told us staff were kind, friendly and approachable. Comments included, “They are all kind. Always nice and friendly and they do their best. Always call me by my name”; “They always say good morning or good afternoon. I think they are good” and “They are kind and helpful and nothing is too much trouble.”

We observed a number of positive interactions throughout the assessment. Staff had an open, friendly rapport with people and most staff knew people very well. Care provided was person centred, people were treated with respect and were supported to spend their time how they chose. When people became anxious or upset staff responded promptly, such as offering distraction or a change of environment.

Relatives were very positive about the staff and the way they treated their loved ones. They described staff as caring, kind, attentive and patient. Staff respected people’s privacy, treated people with dignity and respect and always asked for consent to care. Comments included, “The are staff lovely and mum is happy there” and “Staff are incredibly polite and courteous, there are different faces, but some are the same and it is a big place.”

The provider treated people as individuals and mostly 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. We observed staff respecting people’s choices and treating people as individuals. People said, “They are quite friendly”; “They are lovely and very respectful” and “They are all very nice. Always respectful. They all call me [name], if they think they are being funny they will call me [different name].”

People’s cultural and religious needs were documented in care plans. A person’s detailed how staff could support them to access Sikh prayers and appropriate music and TV channels to meet their needs. People were supported to have visits from religious ministers/clergy if this was their wish. The registered manager told us religious services took place on an ad hoc basis. For example, if people requested a priest visit. People’s birthdays were celebrated; birthday cakes were made. A person said, “I can’t see, so I can’t read, staff read my birthday cards to me.”

We observed people on the 1st floor being supported to use the garden. However, people upstairs did not always have access to outside. There was a large balcony on the 2nd floor which was locked throughout the 2 days of our assessment. The weather was hot and sunny. A relative said, “One thing is missing is access to outside, she loves being outside, seeing the flowers and trees.”

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 went out with their families. We observed people and their relatives utilising the grounds. There were plenty of places for people to sit in the sun or shade to have private family time together. There was a varied choice of activities available for people. The activities schedule on display showed various events, bingo, singing, games, cinema, quizzes, art, crafting and reminiscence and was led by a mixture of internal activities staff, care staff and external entertainers. We observed activities staff engaging people with activities, there was lots of laughter, chat and encouragement. We gave some feedback to the management team about 1 activity led by care staff we observed which had not been very engaging. For people who chose to stay in their rooms or did not like to participate in group activities staff told us they made time to go in and chat to people.

People told us they were supported with maintaining contact with their friends and relatives. Comments included, “I have my own phone. Sometimes I need help as I cannot get a signal” and “I have 2 relatives. One comes every Monday. I don't have her number, but they would ring her if I asked.” Staff told us they would try and encourage people to come to the lounge or dining room so that they did not become isolated but respected their choices if they declined.

Relatives said, “There is always something going on, lots of things to engage with; musical instruments, she had a rattle the other day. They have pets, these are good therapy which mum loves. There are lots of boxes with items in the lounge, such as sensory things, a different selection on each table. She chats about nothing” and “There are lots of activities; singers come in; they have chair exercises. He has interacted sometimes; staff get him out of bed and take him into the lounge. They ask us if we want privacy when we visit and will take us back to his room. They put tennis on for us instead of the music, when we asked.” A relative said, “They do try and do activities but he’s virtually blind and deaf. We are now paying for someone privately to be a companion.”

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff mostly responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. We observed staff responding to people’s needs in a timely manner most of the time. At busy times when care staff were supporting people to get up and ready for the day, staff attended to people using their call bells and listened to what the person wanted. For example, a staff member explained they were supporting another person but would be back with them in approximately 10 minutes. We observed they did go back and provide support when they said they would. A person said, “I've never had to wait if I ping them, they come.”

Staff recognised when people were disorientated and confused and helped people to orientate around the service. However, a person’s care plan and risk assessment did not provide staff with guidance about what to do when they were distressed. We observed staff supporting a person to move from one lounge area to another when they were anxious and distressed to give them a change of environment and to prevent others becoming agitated. Rather than supporting the person to visit a calming environment such as the sensory room, sensory corridors or the Namaste room (which had relaxing music, smells and massage) the person was relocated to another lounge area which was busier. They became increasingly agitated and joined a group of people in the garden which did not relax and calm them, people began to shout at the person “Oh shut up.” A staff member told us they had not even considered relaxing activities and environments to support people to relax and calm down.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. The provider had systems and processes in place to promote and support staff wellbeing. Staff told us the service was flexible around childcare. Comments included, “I book my leave around my religious festivals”; “We have a carer of the year award scheme across the Graham Care group, 2 carers from each home get nominated, there is a party. They are flexible in relation to childcare and religious needs, the manager is very supportive. They do the best they can” and “There are lots of notices about staff wellbeing and support available. [Registered manager] helps me, and I can talk with all of them including the duty managers.”