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

This service scored 70 (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 always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People received support from staff who consistently showed kindness, compassion, patience, and respect. People and their relatives spoke positively about staff. One person’s relative told us, “I would say that without exception, all the staff are wonderfully kind and caring. They treat those who may be confused, with patience and understanding and never with a cross word.” During our observations we saw staff had a good understanding of the people they were supporting.Staff were kind and patient and treated people with compassion and care. One member of staff told us, “[People] are treated with the upmost kindness, respect and dignity. Myself and colleagues have great working relationships and rapport with [people]…We all share many laughs together on a daily basis. We make sure we are there beside them and an open ear for support. We try to combat loneliness and promote inclusiveness.”

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.

Staff were attentive to people’s needs, recognising when someone became distressed and responding in a timely, calm, and compassionate manner. We observed that staff had positive and respectful relationships with people, with warmth and appropriate use of humour. Interactions reflected an understanding of each person’s preferred way of communicating, helping to promote wellbeing.

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

Staff understood the importance of empowering people to be as independent as possible and to give them opportunities to make choices and have control over their day-to-day activities. A staff member explained, “I do feel people have real choices about their care. The carers follow the person centered care plans, and we respect [people] and their plans. I have witnessed colleagues asking choices continually whether it's food choices, showing plates, what they would like to wear today, what personal care they would like and when, if they want to join in or what they would like to do today.”

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. We observed staff to be attentive to people’s needs and support them in a caring way. However, we received some feedback that staff did not promptly support people with their immediate personal care needs which was attributed to the staffing levels. Staff also told us the staffing levels make it challenging to meet people’s needs in a timely way. One staff member said, “Carers do their best to meet the needs of [people], but this is not always in a timely manner.” We discussed this with the manager and district manager for the provider who took action to address this by reviewing their staffing levels and increasing this where needed.

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

Staff were recognised and valued through initiatives such as a management-led “Appreciation Nomination of the Month” scheme, which helped to promote good practice, boost morale, and foster a positive workplace culture. People, relatives, and staff were encouraged to take part by nominating team members who had gone above and beyond in their roles. This meant staff were acknowledged and motivated, contributing to improved job satisfaction and stronger team cohesion.