Amberwood Lodge

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 service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last inspection we rated this key question good. At this inspection 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 service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity.

We observed kind and caring interactions between staff and people. People were comfortable in the presence of staff.A person told us they liked staff members who looked after them. A relative told us, “I would like to say I am grateful [person] is being supported by Amberwood lodge who are caring and professional and [person] is safe.”

Staff knew people and their routines well. Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service.

Health and social care professionals were complimentary about the service. A health and social care professional said, “Care is delivered through a person-centred approach that recognises the individual’s needs in a safe, reliable system.”

The service 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.

Relatives spoke positively about staff. A relative told us, “I feel staff know [person] well and [person] is offered choices, but they respect [person’s] wishes if [person] declines.”

We observed staff respecting people’s choices and treating them as individuals.

Records included information about people’s preferences regarding their care and considered their cultural needs, histories and interests. People were encouraged to get involved and vote on which activities they would like to do and improvements they would like to see at the service. A staff member said, “Each person has their own timetable and an accessible version of this and/or their own choosing tool to support them making choices.”

We observed people appeared to be relaxed and comfortable with staff.

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

Staff told us how important it was to ensure people remained as independent as possible. Staff gave us detailed examples about how they supported people in their day-to-day lives. A staff member said, “I always engage people in activities that promote their independent living.”

People were supported to maintain relationships and networks that were important to them. A staff member said, “People contact family in various ways by telephone, video calls, meeting family on outings and visiting/staying with their family.”

We observed staff supporting people to complete domestic tasks such as their laundry, in ways which promoted people's independence.

People were involved in making choices about their care arrangements. This was clearly documented in their records. Staff communicated effectively with people using a range of techniques. A relative said, “Staff support [person’s] independence with support and prompts.”

The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff respond to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Staff provided people with emotional support when needed. We observed staff responding to people's needs in a timely manner.

Changes in people’s wellbeing were documented and raised with healthcare professionals when required.

Care plans and assessments included information about how people displayed signs of anxiety or pain enabling staff to identify when people needed additional support.

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

The registered manager told us staff had access to a variety of employee assistance programmes offeringGP services, counselling services, cashbacks for dental treatment and the opticians.

Staff told us they felt supported. A staff member said,“All staff are treated equally, and residents are the main priority.”

Staff’s wellbeing was discussed during supervision meetings.