St Neots Neurological Centre

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

This means we looked for evidence that the service 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 Good.

This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

We have not awarded this service a score for Caring.

Find out about when we will not publish a key question score and what we look at when we assess Caring.

Staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity.

Staff attitudes and behaviours when interacting with patients showed they were discreet, respectful and responsive, providing patients with help and emotional support at the time they needed it. During the assessment we observed staff engaging with patients. These interactions were positive, supportive and kind.

Patients told us that staff were kind and friendly, although some said they would like staff to have more time to spend with them. Carers we spoke with were happy with the care staff provided to their family member.

Staff treated people as individuals and made sure their care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences, taking account of their strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff supported patients to understand and manage their care and treatment by using different methods of communication. Staff worked collaboratively with patients to assess their communication needs and record their communication plans.

Staff used different methods of communication for patients with reduced capacity to understand or lack of verbal communication. These included picture cards, gestures and pointing, and for one patient the service had supplied an eye movement to speech device.

The service demonstrated a commitment to meeting the diverse needs of all patients, particularly those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. The service implemented the patient and carer race equality framework (PCREF). Staff ensured that patients with Afro-Caribbean hair had access to suitable hair care, and that patients had access to spiritual and religious guidance.

The service had worked on enhancing mealtime experience for patients who required modified food including minced or pureed food. The speech and language therapist, dietician and chefs had worked together to ensure that food looked and tasted appealing, including the use of molds to make food look more appetising.

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

Staff empowered and supported patients and their families to have as much choice and control over their care and treatment as possible. Staff involved patients in discussion about their risks, goals and discharge plans, and where patients were unable to make decisions, their families wishes were clearly recorded. The service held best interest decision meetings for patients without capacity to make decisions.

The service did not have set visiting hours and families could visit as often and whenever they wished. Most patients were not detained under the Mental Health Act so family members could take them out for trips into the community whenever they wanted. Family members appreciated that they could take their loved one out for a coffee or walk at their convenience without prior organisation.

Family members could also visit their loved one in their bedroom. Staff ensured that this was as close to being at home together as possible. For example, the service had bought a two-seater sofa for one patient’s bedroom so that she and her husband could watch television together in the evenings. Staff provided meals for family members so that they could eat lunch or dinner with their loved one. On Valentine’s Day, staff had set the dining table as if it was a restaurant for patients to have dinner with their spouse.

The service held social events for patients and their family members including afternoon tea and a Christmas party which were well attended and enjoyed.

Staff encouraged patients to attend weekly community meetings where they could feedback about the service and discuss any activities or community trips they would like. The service offered a variety of community trips including farm visits and group walks.

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 responded promptly and effectively to changes in patients’ needs. Staff discussed each patient in the morning meeting and reviewed their health including NEWS2 score, food and fluid intake, urine and bowel output, blood sugar levels and whether any additional action needed to be taken.

Staff also reviewed whether there were any updates needed to capacity assessments, risk assessments or care plans. Staff were aware of and dealt with any specific risk issues, such as falls or choking risks.

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

Staff felt respected, supported and valued by their line managers. Staff were recognised through ‘KITE’ awards and staff survey results showed high levels of satisfaction for engagement, wellbeing and inclusion.

Staff felt supported after incidents and received debrief, reflective practice sessions and check-ins from managers and psychologists. Staff were encouraged to report any racial abuse to the police and were supported by managers to do so.

The staff sickness rate was slightly higher than the 3% target at 3.7%.

Staff appraisals included conversations about professional development and how it could be supported. At the time of assessment 79% of staff had received an annual appraisal of their work with the remaining 21% booked in for February 2026.