Helena Road

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.

We observed staff interacting with people in a kind and caring manner. For example, a staff member was seen to be giving reassurance and explanations to a person about a forthcoming medicinal procedure they were asking about. Staff understood the importance of promoting people’s dignity and privacy. They explained how they did this, for example, when providing support with personal care. A member of staff told us, “At all times curtains and doors are closed [when providing support to people with personal care].” People told us they liked the staff and staff treated them well.

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.

Care was person-centred, based around people’s individual needs. Care plans reflected this, and staff had a good understanding of how to support people in a personalised way.

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

We saw people were offered choices on the days of our inspection. For example, they were offered choices of meals and asked about activities they would like to do. Staff told us how they promoted people to make choices and to promote their independence. People told us some of the things they did that promoted their independence. A person said, “I washed the plates and dishes this morning.” Staff understood the importance of supporting people to be as independent as possible. A member of staff told us, “When I give personal care, I let them take the lead. I empower them to do as much for themselves as possible.”

The registered manager told us how people were supported to develop independent living skills such as preparing drinks, doing their laundry and using public transport. We observed people being supported with this. However, people’s independent living skills care plans were very basic and did not include much information about how people might develop these skills. We discussed this with the registered manager who told us they would address this issue.

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 understood people’s needs and how to meet them. We observed staff reacted in a prompt manner when people required support. Staff were familiar with the contents of people’s care plans, which helped them to meet needs appropriately.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff told us it was a good place to work and there was a supportive working culture. A member of staff said, “It’s a nice home.” Staff were given opportunities for development through regular training and supervision. Regular team meetings were also held which gave staff a voice about how the service was run.