23 Oak Avenue

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 as good. At this assessment the rating has remained a good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 80 (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 was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Relatives, health and social care professionals and visitors, unanimously told us the service was exceptional in the way it treated people with kindness, compassion and dignity. They told us this had had a significant positive impact on the people who used the service. This approach had helped people to feel safe, reduce their distressed behaviours and anxieties, and do the things they enjoyed so they had a good quality of life. Six monthly reviews analysed data of people’s daily lives and evidenced this caring and person-centred approach was successful in people enjoying and maintaining quality of life. For example, one person with distressed behaviours had successfully transitioned to the service and felt confident in the staff team to continue to allow them to be supported to participate in the activities they enjoyed.

Staff were particularly sensitive to times when people needed caring and compassionate support. Staff had demonstrated real empathy for the people they cared for when there had been changes in the household. They had recognised the impact of the change on people who lived at the service. Social stories had been individually written to help people to understand and cope with these significant changes. This strategy had been successful in minimising the stress and impact on people’s well-being.

Staff were skilled at anticipating people’s needs and recognising distress and discomfort at the earliest stage. They were able recognise minor changes in people’s body language and facial expressions that indicated they may be in pain or upset. As a result, people were given pain relief in a timely manner. A visitor commented, “Staff care for individual residents in a way that is very much like a family. They are genuinely observant of their needs and aiming to give the best quality of life.”

Relatives and visitors described the culture of the service as person-centred where staff were highly motivated to offer care and support that was exceptionally compassionate and kind. A relative told us, “The staff are absolutely great. The manager is caring and committed. My family member is part of their family. The service is 5 star. It is the best place you could place anyone.” Visitors to the service told us it was the friendliness of the staff, their genuine love of caring for people and show of affection that made 23 Oak Avenue stand out. A visitor told us, “I am in awe of the place. It is a cut above the rest. They treat people like family and it comes from a place of love. They go above and beyond. It is genuine love you couldn’t make up.”

The caring culture of the service had a direct, positive impact on people. As staff enjoyed their role and felt supported, staff retention was high. This meant that people were supported by a consistent team of staff who knew them well. This was particularly essential for some people at the service as it took a long time to trust new staff. Comments from staff included, “I love this job. It is rewarding and different every day. I have rapport with the service users and make relationships. It is great when you get to know someone and they trust you” and “It is home from home and a happy place”. A visitor told us, “The staff genuinely get on well. It is like that all the time. They work collaboratively and always have people’s best interests at heart.”

We observed staff had built open and honest relationships with people and created a calm and caring environment. People were relaxed in staff’s company and received constant attention and praise. Staff adapted in a caring way to people’s differing needs. One person enjoyed touch and staff gently rubbed their shoulders and tickled their back. In response the person smiled and indicated they would like some more attention. Another person enjoyed staff company and conversation but liked their own personal space and staff respected this.

We did not look at Treating people as individuals during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

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

We did not look at Responding to people’s immediate needs during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Workforce wellbeing and enablement during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.