The Terrace

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 requires improvement. This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.

This service scored 50 (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. Some relatives told us the quality of the care provided depended on the individual staff members working. One relative said “We find the care provided mixed. There is good and bad carers.” Another relative told us, “Care varies, depending on the staff who are on duty and the time they have allocated. On the whole, the majority of the workers are caring and considerate.”

Interactions between staff and people were mostly caring, kind and empathetic. However, the language staff used to describe behaviours of people living with dementia was not always dignified and respectful. A staff member told us some people living with dementia had been “shouted at to sit down” when attempting to walk around the unit. We raised this as a safeguarding concern with the service to action.

Communication between staff and management needed improving. Staff told us they weren’t listened to and the manager failed to take action to address concerns raised.

The provider did not always treated people as individuals to make sure their care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The provider took account of people’s culture and protected characteristics.

Staff had a good understanding of the people they supported and people’s individual communication needs were assessed and documented. However, people’s individual needs and preferences were not always met. Blanket approaches in some areas of care meant that care was not always individualised.

The provider did not always promote people’s independence, so people did not always know their rights and have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People told us they were not always given a choice around their meals and at times staff would assume what they wanted to eat and bring it to their room.

Staff and relatives told us the activities lacked variety and access to activities, particularly accessing the community was limited to certain residents.

The bedrooms of people living with dementia lacked personalisation, such as pictures and furnishings to help them navigate independently.

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

Whilst we saw examples of staff responding effectively to minimise distressed behaviour, people were often left waiting for staff to respond to their needs as they were busy elsewhere. For example, people were left waiting at mealtimes without explanation, leading to them to getting restless.

Staff at times used language that was not always appropriate and dignified.

The provider did not always care about and promote the wellbeing of their staff. They did not always support or enable staff to deliver person-centred care.

Staff were not receiving regular supervisions from their line managers with only 20% of staff received a one-to-one supervision in 2026. Staff told us senior support workers were not well supported, such as not receiving regular breaks or expecting to come in earlier than the start of their shift.

Staff meetings were not well attended and minutes shared did not evidence open or supportive conversations between staff and leaders.

The manager had recently started a well-being Wednesday initiative to recognise staff. Some staff felt this was tokenistic and they wanted to be listened to.