Rathgar Care Home

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 treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

The feedback we received from people, relatives and external professionals confirmed people were treated with kindness, compassion and dignity. For example, a person told us, “Its lovely here - we are well looked after.” Another person told us, “It’s nice here - they think of you all the time. Not just me. All the people living here.” A relative told us, “They always ask for [name of person] consent before doing anything and they respect privacy and dignity.”

The interactions we observed during the assessment confirmed people living at the service were treated with respect and dignity. The atmosphere in the home was positive, relaxed and homely. A person told us staff were, “Trying their best for [them] to still have the best life.” A relative told us, “Rathgar is a home like environment.”

The provider had arranged for all staff to complete dignity and respect training.

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 we spoke with had good knowledge of people who lived in the home; this included their likes, dislikes, strengths and abilities.

People told us they felt they were treated as individuals and that nothing was too much trouble for staff. For example, a person told us, “They [staff] will stay and have a talk about something and sit on the bed - it’s good for me.” Another person told us, “The [staff] that look after us are absolutely brilliant - if you want anything you only have to ask - they make sure you are not short of anything."

We found people’s cultural and religious needs were assessed by the service. For example, we found information in relation to people’s religion was recorded in care plans.

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

The provider promoted the independence of people living at the home. For example, a person told us how they were encouraged and supported to carry out some aspects of their personal care, although their disability did limit what they were able to do for themselves. Another person told us, “I can do things by myself and still do as much as possible, but staff help me if I need it.”

The provider employed an activities co-ordinator who arranged a range of activities for people in consultation with people. For example, exercises, bingo, board games, arts and crafts, balloon tennis, movies, word searches, quizzes, and darts. A relative told us, “They do have activities for which people have been coming in. [Relative’s name] enjoys the entertainment and the gentle exercises.”

Staff and people told us that where people were cared for in bed, dedicated time was allocated to spend with them in their rooms.

We also found there were regular activities arranged in the community, and staff volunteered to support these. For example, during the assessment, people told us there was a planned visit to the local pub. A person told us, “Next week I am going for a trip to the pub - I am looking forward to it.”

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.

The provider had emotional needs care plans and, where required, behaviour care plans. Staff knew people well, which meant they recognised potential early warning signs of distress, understood how to distract a person, and how to keep them safe.

We observed a staff member responding to a person who showed signs of distress. The response was considerate and compassionate and focused on the best way the person could be supported. For example, the staff member offered the person pain relief and carried out a pain assessment.

Call bells were responded to promptly during our visit and we noted these were reported on by the provider at weekly management meetings.

Staff had completed Managing Behaviours which Challenge training.

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

Staff felt their wellbeing was important to the provider. A staff member told us, “Since my first day here I have felt like I am at home and part of a family.” Another staff member said, “I have 2 families – my home family and my work family.”

The provider held regular staff meetings, and we saw staff had regular supervision and appraisals. New employees had increased supervision during their probationary period to make sure they were fully supported to settle into their role and the home.

The provider offered a range of benefits and staff had access to an external employee assistance programme (EAP).

The provider carried out regular employee satisfaction surveys with actions taken in response to findings.