Melton House

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 changed to outstanding. This meant people were truly respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service.

This service scored 100 (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. The registered manager provided examples where they had provided respectful care and treatment to people during the final days of their life. A family member told us, “It was a big step for [Person] moving to residential care, I saw how quickly they settled due to the kindness and compassion [Staff] showed them and their family. I believe that was why they were so happy at Melton House.”

The staff informed us they enjoyed spending quality time with people and that they had time to do so. Through extremely supportive care interactions staff proactively worked with 1 person to establish a great deal of trust. This enabled staff to develop positive relationships with the person, resulting in reduced distressed behaviours to achieve optimal health and well-being. This was something that has initially been assessed and reported as being unachievable when they first moved to Melton House.

Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. Feedback from other professionals included, “The staff are always respectful when I come in, it is a lovely environment.”

During our observations we found staff to have an in-depth understanding of the people they were supporting. Staff anticipated people’s needs, dealt with people in a patient manner and treated people with kindness and care. Where residents were showing signs of upset or distress staff tried to understand why and worked with the person to reduce their anxieties, until they were settled. When a person became distressed because they disagreed with a prescribed healthcare treatment which conflicted with their dietary choices, staff supported them to challenge this and enabled them to advocate for themselves. One staff member told us, “We support all residents to live as independently as they possibly can but at the same time, we want them to feel like they matter and are heard. If they need us, we will be there in whatever capacity we can be.”

Staff demonstrated they fully understood people's histories and life stories and had developed especially strong relationships with them. Two related people had very complex health care needs leading to extreme distress when interacting with others. Staff had been extremely mindful and diligent to expertly follow agreed multi-disciplinary support strategies, to ensure care and support delivery were in their best interests. Staff also ensured both people were involved in each other’s care planning, which was extremely important to them and was a fundamental part of the provider’s person-centred approach to care.

The provider treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The provider took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Comprehensive care planning information was in place to help staff understand the person's priorities, including their favourite routines, personal history, religious views, and the people in their life who hold special meaning for them. Staff were exceptional at providing personalised care which supported people’s religious and cultural needs, as well as family’s views as wishes. They spent time ensuring people were understood and communicated in their native language to reassure and build trust. Staff used other non-verbal strategies to communicate with people, where required, to make people feel respected and empowered

The activity team robustly documented the events celebrated within the service and had pictures of these events and decorations. This included individual birthday celebrations for people living in the service, Easter, Ramadan and Christmas. Parties were also held in the upstairs lounge and veranda for residents who enjoy watching the horse racing on the track across from the home.

Staff at Melton House understood the importance of maintaining close relationships with family/friends. Visits from family members were encouraged at any time of the day and they were supported to spend as much time at the home as they wanted. Family members were included, appreciated and valued by staff.

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

The service had an impressive activity team who ensured there was a vast range of activities to meet everyone’s needs. This included large groups, smaller groups, 1 to 1 sessions and walking groups accessing local parks and the wider community which helped people feel truly integrated.

Throughout the site visit we observed staff offering people choices and allowing them the time they needed to make decisions relating to their care and treatment. Staff were exceptional at ensuring timely action was taken to ensure people had the correct treatment and equipment to maximise their well-being and independence. There were many examples of people’s quality life being transformed by being able to access communal areas, as well as the garden and being able to interact with others. People, relatives and staff described how these moments had been extremely emotional and how empowering people to be able to do things independently, no matter how big or small, resulted in such joy for both the people and staff teams. Staff recognised the impact this had on peoples well-being and quality of life.

People told us they were supported to make choices and had control over their own care and support. They explained how they were given choices in every aspect of their lives including when and where in the home they received visits from family.

People received care from staff who showed empathy, were kind and extremely caring. People were encouraged and helped by a dedicated team of staff to do as much as they could for themselves, to maintain or regain their independence and develop new skills. Staff described to us how they actively encouraged people to make choices in relation to maintain their independence and their commitment and persistence in ensuring people had access to aids and support they needed to be able to do this.

The provider was exceptional in how they 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 went above and beyond to support a person with specific communication needs to ensure there was effective communication and to provide stimulation. Staff used a range of strategies to support with more complex communication needs, such as using large subtitles on the TV and sensory equipment.

During a transition period where Melton House admitted residents from another service that had closed unexpectedly, staff were swift and sympathetic in their response. They provided compassionate support and reassured people living with dementia that they would be safe. They helped facilitate family visits straight away to easy any anxiety. A professional told us, “For what was an exceedingly challenging time, the staff at Melton House worked tirelessly with our staff, residents and families throughout our transition process. Staff worked into the evening in order to make the process smooth and efficient for everyone.”

Effective systems were in place to continually monitor and assess people’s current needs. Where needs changed, such as a person requiring more specialised nursing care, consent was gained from people and their relatives to move them to the nursing unit.

Relatives told us the service responded exceptionally well to continuously meet people's changing needs. One relative said, “[person] was extremely happy during their stay at Melton House. They had one to one care offered by staff who were extremely attentive. The staff were able to meet all of their complex needs and did so with such compassion and care. All of the staff had to multi-task on many different levels delivering superb care and truly understanding the residents.”

The provider exceptional at caring about and promoting the well-being of their staff, to enable them to always provide person-centred care. Staff were passionate about their roles, the home and the support they received from the provider. Likewise, relatives praised how the manager strived towards providing excellent care from a dedicated and consistent staff team. A relative told us, “The (manager) is an excellent leader and demands excellence from their staff. The fact that staff retention remains high with some staff returning after further training shows they respond to the managers leadership. The manager and team are outstanding; we are grateful this has been the case since [persons]) admission.”

Melton House offers an Employees Assistance Programme ; this was a free to use service which enables staff to talk about concerns or worries they may have. Feedback from staff regarding support was extremely positive, with staff member commenting,” [Manager] is a great support not just to me but the entire staff. We have daily meetings to clarify any doubts, raise concerns and work together to solve and problems on the floor.” Staff explained how this level of support had a positive impact on their well-being and job satisfaction.

Melton House has sponsored overseas staff that work in the home. During their transition to the UK the provider proactively supported them to not only settle into their role but also the local community. This included assistance with travel, lodging, shopping and other local amenities. To help facilitate the transition, team members were buddied with new staff and spent extra time outside of work helping them settle into the realities of living and working in a new country.

The provider had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on a truly open and honest approach to everything they did. In order to deliver the best possible care, the provider uses external healthcare partners alongside their own internal processes to ensure their systems, processes and actions in regard to medications were robust and safe. This approach was welcomed by staff and had further widened their knowledge and skills. One healthcare partner told us,” I have worked with the provider for the last year, and the management team provides strong leadership, they take responsibility for any issues that arise and are extremely responsive. There is so much activity going on in the home to continually improve and strive for excellence.”