Conifers Nursing 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 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. We observed staff interacting with people and found they were kind, caring and respected people’s privacy and dignity. One person said, “They [staff] are lovely.” Another person said, “They [staff] help wherever they can, they are lovely.” Staff knew people well and told us they were happy when people were content. One staff member said, “Staff respect people’s preferences and help promote independence.”

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. The service had an activity co-ordinator who interacted well with people. However, when this member of staff was not on duty, there was a lack of social stimulation and very little to occupy people. People told us they were involved in events to celebrate different music types, and a pizza party was planned where people choose their own pizza toppings. The activity coordinator completed personal profiles to understand people’s interests. One person said, “I get asked what activities I would like to do but I prefer to watch my television.”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Staff explained how they supported people to maintain their independence. One staff member said, “I support people to make their own decisions where possible, respecting their choices.” We observed staff supporting people and found they included people in decisions about their care.

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. We observed staff interacting well with people and offering timely support where needed. Staff were quick to respond when someone said they were in pain. Nursing staff were informed and took appropriate action to help the person feel more comfortable. Staff took time to reposition someone who looked uncomfortable.

The provider did not always care about and promote the wellbeing of their staff. They did not always support or enable staff to deliver person-centred care. We obtained feedback from staff about their experience of working for the provider. We received mixed feedback. Some staff did not feel valued or supported and stated staff morale was low. We raised these concerns with the registered manager who told us they would strengthen supervision discussions and team meetings to regularly address feedback and engagement. Staff had access to a staff handbook which contained information about expectations from the provider, policies and procedures.