Otto Schiff

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.

Staff interacted with people in a warm and respectful manner, and we observed positive engagement, including staff singing with people, offering reassurance and supporting them with daily needs such as eating and drinking. Staff spoke about people with understanding and respect and demonstrated a caring approach. One staff member described how they supported people sensitively, explaining, “I have to support him slowly, finish what he is chewing before another.”

Feedback from relatives was consistently positive about the caring nature of staff. One relative told us, “All the staff are lovely and caring.”

People’s dignity was maintained through personalised care and support, and staff respected people’s preferences and routines.
 

The provider treated people as individuals and ensured people’s care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

The provider developed person‑centred care plans that reflected people’s histories, preferences and cultural needs. This included clear guidance on supporting people in line with their Jewish faith, such as maintaining a kosher diet, observing religious practices and festivals, and respecting individual wishes around end‑of‑life care and burial arrangements.

The provider created a personalised environment to support individuality, including bedrooms with photographs and memory boxes, which helped people living with dementia feel familiar and secure. The environment reflected people’s cultural and religious needs, including mezuzahs (a small case containing a prayer scroll placed on doorways in Jewish homes) displayed throughout the service.

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

Staff helped people maintain independence wherever possible, encouraging them to do what they could for themselves. One relative explained, “Independence is encouraged…within (the person’s) limitations.”

Care plans reflected people’s preferences, routines and abilities, and staff adapted care to suit individual needs. One staff member explained how care was delivered based on individual needs, stating, “Every one of them here has different needs… based on their needs, care plans.”

Staff supported people to make choices about their day-to-day lives, including activities, meals and routines, and involved families and representatives where appropriate.

We observed staff supporting people to engage in activities and maintain social interaction, promoting both independence and wellbeing.

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 recognised changes in people’s condition and escalated concerns appropriately to ensure timely support. This showed they understood when needs changed and how to respond.

We observed staff responding promptly when people required support, including providing reassurance and meeting immediate needs, even where people could not communicate verbally.

The provider used systems such as handovers and electronic care records to support staff to share information and respond consistently.

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

Staff spoke positively about the support they received from managers and described a supportive working environment. One staff member told us, “I feel supported… it’s a big help to us, I stayed here more than 8 years.” Staff said managers were approachable and said they felt comfortable raising concerns, with multiple opportunities to do so through supervision, meetings and informal discussions.

The provider supported staff through regular supervision, training and development opportunities, including leadership programmes for team leaders. Staff maintained the skills required to deliver safe care and told us training was easy to access.

Staff worked well together and described good teamwork, supported by clear communication systems such as handovers and electronic records. While some staff identified pressures when people’s needs increased, they told us managers listened and were responsive to feedback.

This supported staff to feel valued and enabled them to provide consistent, person‑centred care.