The Old Rectory

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.

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.

Staff demonstrated genuine empathy for the people they cared for. Health professionals told us that staff knew people well and were caring and kind. One said, “The staff know the people they support really well, and I have only seen staff interact well.”

We observed staff showing humour, kindness and compassion for people they were supporting. Staff assisted people calmly and kindly and distracted them when they were anxious. Staff were thoughtful and kind when assisting with meals, activities and taking them out. Staff ensured their clothing was suitable and promoted their dignity. People were supported to wear clothes of their choice, and whilst it may not always be thought to be suitable, it was people’s informed choice.

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 told us they considered people’s lifestyle choices and created support plans with projected outcomes that respected those choices. One staff member said, “We take into account what they want to do, enjoy doing, and how it can be achieved.”

Staff knew people and their life histories very well and understood their likes and dislikes. Care plans had been transitioned from paper to computer and were still being developed. This was a work in progress to ensure all details were captured. There were organisational policies that put people at the centre of their care and treated them as individuals.

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

Staff supported people to be as independent as possible, making decisions about their daily lives, such as going out, and activities. We observed people and saw that staff discussed options with people before taking them to different activities. The peripatetic manager described how people’s choices were respected and their independence promoted, “We do a lot more than we document, it’s an area we are looking at to improve documenting what staff do.”

The provider 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.

People were observed closely, and their needs were responded to by a staff team that knew them well. Staff picked up on signs of discomfort, distress and agitation quickly and used their knowledge of the person to respond in an appropriate way. We saw staff using diversionary tactics with one person who became anxious and resolved the situation with the person becoming calm and laughing. Diversionary tactics are strategies used to distract from a main issue by drawing attention to something else.

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

We received some mixed feedback regarding the changes in management over the past couple of years. Staff told us, “We have had a number of managers and it can we a bit unsettling, because things start to change and then we start all over again, but [name] has been great -wish she could stay but she’s are only here till they recruit,” and “They are supportive, and will always find a solution, when I have had to change work hours, they were great.”

One staff member told us how the training covered all aspects of people’s care and was interesting, “loads of training, all very good though.” Staff told us they were supported through staff meetings, supervisions and they also had safety hub meetings where they discussed incidents and accidents.

All staff we spoke with found the management team to be approachable, listened to what they had to say, and acted where improvements or suggestions were made. Staff told us there was an open-door policy in the office and staff could access the office at any time to speak to management.