8 Acres

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 Requires Improvement. At this inspection the rating has changed to Outstanding. This meant people were truly respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service.

This service scored 95 (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 was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Staff provided care with kindness and compassion, demonstrating an understanding of individuals' personal histories, which allowed them to anticipate needs and tailor support accordingly. We observed people and staff interacting and saw that staff were kind, offering support and reassurance where needed. People were visibly happy and appeared comfortable with the staff supporting them.

Staff we observed clearly cared about the people they supported and knew them well. We saw many instances of staff and people sharing jokes and laughing together. We observed staff providing relational support that was built on trust. One support worker told us, “I am most proud of the relationships and the trust I have with the people we support. They know you will do what you say you will, and they can trust you, and that takes work.” One person told us, “I completely trust [Staff]. They help me and I can talk to them about anything. After [a bereavement] I went a bit off the rails but [Staff member] was there for me.” A Relative said, “Staff will look out for [Person] and it’s a lovely feeling, knowing [Person] is safe there. [Person] comes home on Saturday and always wants to return [to the service]. There were problems in the past, but staff have held their hands up and fixed the problem. Another relative said, “I live in London and the staff will bring [Person] to meet me at the local station. They helped us to visit the zoo on [their] birthday.”

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.

We saw 2 people had their own ‘cabins’ in the grounds, in addition to their flat. One person used theirs to store an extremely vast collection of DVDs, videos, magazines and artworks. Although there was plenty of space for these within the persons flat, they preferred to have their home quite bare to meet their sensory needs. They were supported to visit the cabin to choose a bag full of DVDs to take back to the flat to watch whenever they chose. They told us “I love my cabin; I have everything I need here. I don’t like clutter in my flat.”

The care plans we reviewed were thoroughly person-centred and developed in partnership with each individual and those close to them. They detailed personal interests and activities, offering insights into how staff could foster the most meaningful interactions.

Staff had clearly invested time in getting to know people and their relatives, gaining a deep understanding that was evident both in documentation and in direct conversations. Individuals were supported to set personal goals and aspirations, and staff showed real commitment to helping people pursue and achieve them.

At our last inspection we found people’s levels of independence, choice and control over their day to day lives varied and we identified a breach of the legal regulations in relation to person centred care. At this inspection improvements had been made.

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

It was important for people to have control over when they left the service. Staff needed to be available to help them whenever they chose to leave, making sure their wishes were followed. This was always the case. As a result, people were well-supported to spend more time in the community and could do what they wanted, when they decided to. A relative said, “Staff will take [Person] out and about; go to play pool, for arts and crafts and they love bowling.”

People were encouraged and supported to develop and maintain household skills. One relative told us, “[Person] will spend time with the staff cleaning their flat and doing the laundry. They have a cooker, washing machine and tumble dryer and get involved in everyday household chores.”

People’s living spaces were their own and people were encouraged to decorate their spaces how they chose to. Some people’s flats we visited had recently been redecorated and painted in the colours of their choice. One person was a very proud Norwich City FC fan, and their flat was painted in bright green and yellow, which they excitedly told us about. Another person’s flat was painted bright red, and orange. The person was eager to show us and tell us about how they had chosen the colours.

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.

For example, we observed one person become anxious about our presence and staff responded to them calmly and consistently, redirecting them with humour and kindness in a way to which they immediately felt reassured.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. The provider worked to maintain staff wellbeing. One staff member told us, “I used to work the night shift, but it was really messing up my sleep cycle, so I asked to change. That was fine, no issues. I do feel well looked after here, we are a family and work together.” Following an incident where a member of staff experienced physical aggression when a person was distressed a staff member told us, "[The manager] asked if I wanted to go home but I was ok. They checked me over and then sent me messages after my shift was over. We had a debrief and I could have seen a counsellor if I felt I needed it.”

Staff told us they felt encouraged and supported by the new management team and were given opportunities to develop in their roles. One staff member told us, “This is my first time working in a care home and I absolutely love it. I have been here for a year, but they believe in me, and I am on a development pathway. I am enrolling in my level 3 diploma, and I’ve been made shift leader, so I have opportunities to develop my leadership. The culture here is so nurturing, of the staff and the people we support. I know there have been issues in the past, but I haven’t seen it.”