HF Trust - Phillippines Close

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.

Relatives told us staff were caring and treated people with kindness and respect. Comments included, “Staff are definitely kind and caring. They speak so nicely to him”; “They are always respectful”; and “There’s a lot of care and love there.” Relatives said this kindness extended to themselves when they visited their loved one. A relative told us, “Staff are very welcoming on arrival. I would recommend the service to others as they are very caring.”

We observed staff interacting with people with kindness. When people became agitated staff reassured them and distracted them to engage in something they enjoyed. Staff acknowledged when people were upset and sympathised with them offering appropriate assistance. When there had been occasions when some staff had not used language that was respectful, this had been addressed with the whole team at a staff meeting.

Staff described people in a positive way, focusing on their individual characteristics. For example, staff explained how a person had their own specific standards of maintaining their personal care and described how they endeavoured to achieve this when supporting them. We observed people sitting next to staff for long periods of time with a relaxed body posture which indicated they were content and enjoyed being in their company.

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.

People’s cultural and faith needs were documented in their care records together with their strengths, abilities and preferences. People were supported to attend services important to their faith. Care records included people’s preferred routines, what was important to them, what people liked about themselves, were good at and made them happy.

We observed staff treating people individually according to their preferences and choices. Staff described how mealtime and independence was important to one person. Although this person took a long time to eat their meal by themselves, staff did not intervene but observed them discreetly. This ensured that mealtime was a positive experience for this person. Staff communicated with one person with a specific word/sound that they had discovered the person liked. We observed this communication throughout the day and saw how the person responded well to this personalised approach.

Relatives told us staff knew people well and so were able to support them in an individual way. Comments from relatives included, “She only likes certain people. I suppose that’s like all of us. They do try all the different members of staff” and “Staff understand him well. They know his likes and dislikes: Definitely. He considers it his home.”

People’s homes were personalised with photographs, pictures and personal items. Some people carried around objects that were of significance to them. Staff acknowledged how important these were to the people concerned and engaged them in conversation about them.

Staff promoted people’s independence, so people had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Relatives told us people were able to make choices with differing levels of support. One relative told us, “They use picture cards to help her choose.” Another relative said, “She helps choose her clothes.” Daily records evidenced that people made day to day choices with regards to their care and support. This included when people had declined support with their personal care. On these occasions staff returned to the person later or changed with a different member of staff.

People told us they helped around the house such as emptying the dishwasher and with making their bed. Staff knew people well including what things people could do for themselves and when they needed support. When describing people’s daily routines, staff explained each person’s level of support. We observed staff encouraging people to be independent. When people asked for a drink they were supported to locate the items they needed and to make their choice of drink. A relative said, “He can have a drink or a snack whenever he likes.”

Relatives told us they could visit the service at any time and that they were made to feel welcome by the staff team. One relative told us, “Staff are so kind. You don’t have to make an appointment and there’s no restrictions on time."

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.

We observed staff responding to people’s needs in a timely manner. When people sought staff for reassurance or support, staff were able to respond appropriately as they understood people’s communication styles. Staff were able to describe people’s moods and when they were happy and when they were not by their body language and behaviour.

People had communication passports which provided staff with enough information on how to support people who could not verbalise if they were in pain or distress. They described how changes in people’s face, skin, breathing or body posture could indicate if the person was content or unhappy. Staff were confident they understood people’s verbal and non-verbal clues to gauge if people were happy and content and when they were not their usual selves.

Relatives said staff responded to people’s immediate needs. A relative said, “She had to go to hospital with an infection, and they called me straight away and I got straight in the ambulance and went with her.” Another relative told us, “It's very difficult to find fault with the way he’s looked after physically and emotionally."

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

The provider was responsible for a range of services in Kent and East Sussex. The results of the providers last survey in January 2025 found there had been an increase in job satisfaction and staff engagement.

Staff at the service said it was a positive place to work. Staff wellbeing was supported through staff meetings, supervisions and annual appraisals. These meetings gave staff opportunities to discuss best practice as well as their own development. Staff development was encouraged through supporting staff to undertake health and social care qualifications.

Although there were a mix of permanent and agency staff working at the service, staff all said they felt like one team and worked well together. Permanent staff said agency staff had been very supportive in helping them to understand about people’s individual needs. Agency staff responded that they were treated by permanent staff as important members of the team and ‘not just an agency worker’. All staff on shift were involved in team meetings to discuss people’s care needs as equal partners. An example was given of how the staff team had pulled together in supporting staff who were unwell.

Records of staff meetings evidence staff had been praised for the support they provided and supervisions included staff’s strengths in addition to how they could improve. Reasonable adjustments had been made to the staff rota to support staff with longer travel time.