Brookfield

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.

Some people told us they were not always treated with kindness and dignity. One person said, "Very mixed, some people are very good, some are very diabolical. Some give good, excellent quality of care." We saw staff demonstrated a gentle, patient manner throughout our inspection. They were respectful and knew how best to communicate with people. Relatives and external visitors were treated with respect and the atmosphere was a welcoming one.

People felt listened to by staff who understood them, including their preferences, wishes, personal histories, backgrounds, and potential. One person said, "The staff are so gorgeous, they know the 'patients' [people], friends and relatives and they pass the time of day with them." A relative said, "[Staff are] very friendly, I have knowledgeable conversations with the carers, they are very good with people here."

During the inspection we observed many caring interactions between people and staff. For example, people being supported with their mobility in a patient caring manner.

The provider impressed the importance of upholding this dignified approach on staff in meetings and through supervisions.

Staff 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

One person said, “Oh yes, we are treated fairly because staff respect our wishes and meet all our needs.”

Care staff understood people’s preferences and wishes. Care plan information to support staff to ensure people’s needs and preferences were understood, were good. There were detailed individual plans and also a summary section which gave a good, rounded picture of the person.

People’s religious needs were understood by staff. One person told us, “I am religious, so it suits me to live here. The chaplain makes regular visits here, 3 or 4 times a week, I go to a bible class every Tuesday and the Thursday service, afterwards we always have coffee/tea and biscuits and sing any songs.”

Staff were respectful and compassionate throughout the inspection, showing affection and patience for the people, they cared for. Whilst staff were clearly busy at times, they never displayed a sense of being rushed to the people they were supporting.

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

People who had the capacity to choose felt they had control over day-to-day choices. The provider and staff had built up good relationships with families, so they had a good understanding of what preferences people might like, even when they were unable to choose[ES1]. Care planning set out people preferences in terms of where they wanted to receive care, where possible.

People spoke about their independence. Comments included, “I can be independent, walk around, go in the garden. I go out in the garden with my wife” and “Definitely independent, I do my own self-care, and I have chosen to be a volunteer with the activity people, and I can use the garden freely.”

One person spoke with us about how the staff had promoted their independence and boosted their confidence and self-esteem. They said, “The activities are the best thing that has ever happened to me. They’ve looked after me really well [staff] I couldn’t ask for more. I can even sing in public now, before I couldn’t sing or do anything in front of people.”

The provider ensured staff responded promptly, in the moment, when people needed help. Staff listened to people views and wishes and acted on them.

When people changed their minds, for instance at mealtimes, or choosing where they wanted to spend their time, staff were responsive to this. They were patient and helped people communicate their needs.

External professionals raised no concerns about the responsiveness of staff or leaders in terms of their oversight of people’s needs and how they responded to them. Staff made prompt referrals to healthcare professionals when required.

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

Staff felt well supported by leaders. One staff member said, “The manager is good, great really. Very supportive and I can go to her with anything.” Staff described an environment where colleagues worked hard and supported each other with work and other matters. Another staff member said, “The manager is an amazing person, incredibly supportive. We have a great team.”

The provider recognised and acted on the recruitment and retention challenges faced in social care. They did everything practicable to ensure the staff they employed understood the benefits and challenges of working in social care.

New staff received appropriate induction, supervision, training and support from experienced staff.