Nightingale 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 changed to Requires Improvement. This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.

This service scored 50 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

During our visit we observed staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. People were observed receiving support to eat at lunchtime in an unhurried and respectful manner, with staff showing genuine interest in them.

Most of people’s relatives were positive about people’s care. One person’s relative told us, “They are all very helpful. They usually keep me up to date when I visit or call them.” Another person’s relative said, “They are excellent, staff are very attentive and good with my mother”. However, relatives of people who experienced incidents/accidents expressed their concerns regarding lack of kindness and compassion. One person’s relative commented, “I'm concerned, this is why I'm coming here every day”.

The provider did not always treat people as individuals or make sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They did not always take account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.For example, some care plans and risk assessments contained names of different people, and some records referred to medicines people were not prescribed. People did not always receive care in line with their care plans or preferences, but instead their care was task focused. For example, one person’s medication care plan mentioned staff always offered one medication before administering a stronger painkiller. However, there was no evidence recorded the person’s medication was offered before the stronger medicine was administered.

The provider did not always promote people’s independence, so people did not always know their rights and have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. During our observations we found people were not always offered a choice of meals. During the second day of the inspection people only had one option for lunch. People did not always have enough activities to engage in. During our inspection we saw a lack of stimulation for people, some of whom spent the whole day in the same place.

People were supported to maintain relationships with those important to them. There were no restrictions on visitors to the home.

The provider did not always listen to and understand people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff did not always respond to people’s needs in a timely manner or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. For example, care plans and risk assessments were not always in place for people with specific needs, which meant staff had no guidance for managing some people’s health needs and associated risks. This increased the likelihood of inconsistent care delivery and put people at a greater risk of incidents. However, we were assured staff knew people well, and the use of agency staff was minimal. Staff took the time to listen to people and respond to their wishes and needs.

We observed a positive example of responsive care. During lunchtime people were not seen waiting long periods for their meals or for assistance with eating. Meals were served promptly and those who required help were supported in a timely and attentive manner, without being rushed.

Overall, staff gave positive feedback about the manager and the support received. Staff provided examples where flexibility and reasonable adjustments had been made to support their personal situations. A member of staff told us, “I feel supported, if I have a problem, they sort it out for me.”