Park 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 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 received support from staff that ensured they were treated with care, kindness, and compassion. There was a good rapport and relationship between people using the service and staff who supported them. People were at ease in staff’s company and there was good, humoured banter throughout both days of our assessment. Staff were attentive to people’s needs, whether it was supporting a person with their personal care needs, supporting someone with drink and meal preparation, to take part in social activities or just talking to people. Relatives told us staff were kind. Comments included, “I think the staff are great, they are affectionate, they care” and “Everyone is very helpful. Nothing is too much trouble, they [staff] are always on top of their game.”

People were supported to maintain their personal appearance to ensure their self-esteem and sense of self-worth. All of the people were observed to wear clothes that fitted well, age appropriate and reflected their personal style.

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 life history, backgrounds and protected characteristics. This is important as this information can foster a person-centred approach to care, enhance communication between staff and the person being supported and promote the person’s wellbeing.

People’s protected characteristics under the Equalities Act 2010, such as age, disability, religion and race were identified as part of their need’s assessment where completed. Staff knew about people’s individual characteristics, for example, in relation to their preferred choice of name, ethnicity and religious beliefs.

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

People were supported by staff to maintain their independence. People were encouraged to retain their autonomy at mealtimes where appropriate by assisting staff with drink and meal preparation. People were encouraged to complete household chores, for example, personal laundry and cleaning of their bedroom. People were also actively encouraged to access their local community with staff support using their personal bus pass. A person using the service told us they completed work experience at a local day centre each week and that they thoroughly enjoyed this activity.

People were supported to maintain relationships that were important to them, including family members and friends. The service supported visits for people living at Park House and people were able to receive visitors without restrictions. In addition, some people were supported by staff to go home to visit their family at regular intervals.

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 received good, personalised care and support that was responsive to their needs. Staff demonstrated a good understanding and knowledge of people’s individual care and support needs, including their individual likes, dislikes, and personal preferences.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff to ensure staff well-being was supported and advocated.

The provider offered staff a variety of initiatives and benefits to support their mental and emotional health and wellbeing. For example, staff had access to a counselling and advice service on personal and professional matters. There were internal reward schemes for staff, such as, ‘Above and Beyond’ nominations, whereby the selected employee received a monetary voucher and recognition within the providers monthly newsletter to celebrate their outstanding contribution, including those who exemplify the provider’s values and ethos.

The staff workforce at Park House were diverse, including representations from a range of different cultures, ethnicities and religions. The registered manager confirmed appropriate arrangements were in place to recognise different multi-faith festivals and customs for staff, such as, religious observance, prayer times, fasting and supporting religious leave requests. The provider made sure their recruitment practices was accessible to all, adopting and supporting anti-discrimination and equal opportunities policies. Staff received equality and diversity training as part of their induction and ongoing development.