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

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 65 (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 did not always treat people with kindness, empathy and compassion, or respect their privacy and dignity. Staff did not always treat colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People and relatives consistently described staff as kind and caring, and positive relationships had developed between people and those supporting them. Relatives told us staff were “Amazingly kind” and said, “They are very kind and caring, very much so.” During the assessment, staff were attentive to people’s needs, explained what they were doing, and offered reassurance, to which people responded positively. Interactions were respectful and supportive, and staff took steps to maintain people’s privacy and dignity.

However, while kindness and compassion were evident in day‑to‑day interactions, these were not always consistently reflected when people became distressed. This indicated that although staff demonstrated caring relationships in routine practice, a shared culture that consistently upheld dignity, choice and rights‑based care in more challenging situations was not fully embedded across the service.

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 care plans contained essential information such as people’s likes and dislikes and any hobbies and interests. The care provided was individualised as staff knew people well. Staff we spoke with were familiar with how to support people with their individual needs and wishes. A relative said “They know what foods they like, what they like to do and where they like to go.”

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

People were encouraged to take control in their daily life, from decisions about meals to how they spent their time. Staff understood their role in supporting people’s independence and told us “I will always try and get them to do as much as possible themselves. Especially with trying to support them to keep their mobility.”

Relatives said, “They get [person’s name] to do as much as they can, depends on their mood, they take them to the shops, supermarkets, show [person’s name] how to do things there as well” and “They do loads of things with them, for example go swimming regularly.”

The provider did not always listen to and understand people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff did not always respond to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

People generally received timely support in response to their immediate needs. Staff were attentive and responsive and offered assistance when required. However, when people’s needs became more complex, responses were not always fully person‑centred or least‑restrictive. Although staff acted promptly, they did not consistently explore the underlying causes of distress or apply the least restrictive approach, and individualised support was less evident in these situations.

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

Staff meetings were held frequently, which gave staff the opportunity to share their views and feel listened to. They were positive about the support they received. A staff member told us, “I feel appreciated and valued.” Another staff member said “There is lots of support from staff and management. Managers are always welcoming.”