Furlong 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 and their relative’s felt staff were kind, caring and respectful. A person told us, “I have no issues at all with my care, the staff do all I ask them to and more. I am never rushed; I am treated with respect by very kind caring people who I feel care about me as an individual and I hope it doesn’t change at all.” A relative told us, “The staff are very kind, they have a lovely chat together with [person’s name] they don’t rush them at all they are very respectful to them.” Staff were able to describe how they supported people whilst maintaining their dignity. The manager had systems in place which sought feedback about how staff responded to people and was confident any concerns would be raised directly.

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. People told us they felt staff treated them as individuals and spent time getting to know them. Relatives confirmed people were given choices about how they wanted to be supported. A relative told us, “The staff come when they should and [person’s name] is given a choice with his personal care.” Staff told us they had information in care plans to guide them on how people wished to be supported and they spent time getting to know people well. Care plans gave details on how to support people, for example, they included information which was specific to the person, including, when people had a specific health condition these were covered with a risk assessment and care plan to guide staff on how to support them.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People and their relatives described how staff supported people to maintain their independence. Staff could share examples of how they supported people to make choices for themselves relating to personal care, meals and clothing. Staff knew people’s routines well and they understood the importance of offering a choice to people about how they wanted to receive the support. Care plans were in place to promote independence. These plans detailed what people needed help with and the areas of their care they could manage for themselves.

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 manager told us there were always staff available to respond to urgent calls. However, this was not the experience of some people. Relatives had mixed views about how responsive the service was. A relative described how a person had needed some immediate support from staff outside of their usual call times. When this was requested, the person was told they needed to wait for staff to be available. Staff confirmed there was a system with a call bell for people to access urgent support when it was needed and they tried to accommodate any requirements.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.The provider had systems in place to support staff in their role. Staff had access to regular supervision discussions, and the provider operated an open-door policy. Staff also had access to counselling services and support with their mental health. Staff were aware of the options open to them and felt they could access support when needed. A staff member said, “The management team are great I can't fault them; they are really supportive of me with some personal issues I have experienced.”