Highmarket 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.

People were treated with kindness, empathy and compassion.However, staff did not always show respect for people’s private space. We observed staff did not routinely knock prior to entering people’s rooms. We provided feedback to the provider to address this with staff.

People and their relatives told us they thought the staff were caring. Comments from relatives included, “the staff there are so good, they know their residents” and “[person] has a good, lovely relationship with carers.”

People had a key worker who was a point of contact for them and their relatives. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. External parties told us they observed staff were kind towards people. People’s confidentiality was also upheld.

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 had taken the time to find out about and record people’s personal histories, including their family relationships, education and employment history, hobbies and interests. This information enabled staff to engage with people about their lives.

People were treated as individuals, for example we observed a person being asked if they would like to listen to music via the Alexa in their room and asked what type of music they would like. A relative also told us “they always respect [persons] choices and he has a lovely room with views out over the park.”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and well-being. People told us staff supported them to manage aspects of their own care where they wished to do this.

Staff promoted choice in the way they supported people, encouraging people to make decisions about their care and their day-to-day lives.

People were supported to maintain relationships that were important to them, including with their families and friends. Relatives told us staff were welcoming and said they had been made to feel part of the life of the home. A person told us, “I am always welcomed when I visit, there is an open culture, carers, team leader and the manager always say hello too, they always get back to me if I raise an issue.”

People were all very positive about the full and varied activities schedule. A person commented, “There is a Cinema Room here, they really do think of everything from my point of view. The facilities suit me perfectly. I read a lot and books are made available to me. I go to Keep Fit and we had a cultural visit the other day, I enjoyed that and Entertainers come in, a group of four singers”. The home had close links to the local community, with many of the social events open for members of the public to attend.

People had their needs assessed and were asked about their wishes and views. People generally reported that staff were responsive to their needs and if there had been a delay it was an exception.

People had aids and adaptations to support them such a sensor alarms in their rooms to alert staff to assist with monitoring people’s safety and relatives appreciated the homes policy to carry out hourly checks.

Large print materials are provided for people who require them, such as for activity schedules and menus. A magnifying glass reader has been placed in the hobby room to make it easier for people to read documents.

Call bells were generally answered with good response times, people told us that if someone had to wait for assistance it was very unusual.

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

Staff had regular opportunities to provide feedback, raise concerns and suggest ways to improve the service or staff experiences. When necessary, leaders provided a timely and considered response. Staff felt valued by their leaders and their colleagues, which had a positive impact on the care they delivered to people. There was a good sense of teamwork and staff told us they worked well together to ensure people’s needs were met. A member of staff told us,” We all work together very well as a team.” The provider had a Gone the Extra Mile (GEM) of the month award given to staff to recognise their positive impact.