The Limes Retirement 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 requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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.

Without exception, people and relatives commented on the care and compassion showed by the staff. A person told us. “All the staff are kind, all very pleasant… they are respectful.” A relative said, “I like the carers, so kind and helpful.”

We observed staff interacting with people in a caring and respectful way, this included positioning themselves at people’s eye level to aid effective communication. Staff used reassuring touch, such as holding hands or stroking a person’s arm, which people responded positively to. Care plans included information where people had been asked for their preferences regarding staff using touch to communicate and how this should be respected.

People told us they felt their privacy was respected, for example, a person said, “I can close my door… [Staff] knock [their bedroom door].” Another person told us, “Staff never just walk in my room, they knock or call out.”

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’s records included information about their history, interests, diverse needs and how these were met. The records included people’s abilities and the support they may require reaching the aims set out in the care plan.

People told us they felt their individual needs were met and the staff knew them well. This was confirmed by relatives. A relative told us, “I like the friendly carers, they are easy to talk to, [family member] is an individual… they do understand [family member].”

Staff spoken with demonstrated they knew about the people they supported and how their needs were met.

People’s friends and relatives visited with no restrictions and people were supported to maintain contact with individuals who were important to them. A person told us, “My family and friends come to visit, none of us have had any problems, you don’t hear many objections here.” A relative said, “We can visit any time, always get a lovely welcome, it has a welcoming atmosphere, staff all talk.”

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

Care plans included people’s preferences about how they wanted to be cared for and how the staff interacted with them. A relative told us how they felt their family member’s decisions were respected, “[Family member] is a late riser, goes to bed later… [family member] knows what [they] want to do. Here they give people choice on bedtimes, snacks in the day, involvement in activities, it is all their choice.” A person said, “I could have breakfast in bed, but I come down, not told when to get up but I like early and not told when to go to bed. I have most meals in the dining room; I can eat in my room.” We observed people’s choices were respected throughout our visits, such as where they chose to be in the service and if they participated in activities.

People were provided with choices of food, and the picture and text format of the menu supported people’s decisions. There were snacks and drinks people could help themselves to. A person told us, “I can help myself to snacks, coffee biscuits they bring across to me.” A relative said the snacks were accessible to people and their family member often helped themselves to what was on offer.

People’s care plans included the areas of their care they could attend to independently and where they required support. A person told us, “Got my independence, got total independence and I really like that.” We observed people had access to a variety of different types of cups and different coloured plates to aid their independence whilst eating and drinking. We observed staff encouraged people’s independence whilst eating and drinking and where support was required, this was provided at the person’s own pace.

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 told us staff were available when needed and requests for assistance, such as when they used their call bell, were responded to promptly. A person said, “Anything that happens like difficult situations there are staff always here to deal with them… staff find a way to sort out problems.” Another person told us, “I use the buzzer… they are there in minute or two at nighttime.” A third person said, “I feel settled, staff are friendly and would help me if I was in trouble.”

Call bell response times were monitored by the registered manager to check response times were acceptable. Staff were present in the communal areas, to ensure any risks to people were reduced. We saw staff were attentive to people’s needs and quickly responded where people required assistance.

People told us they received support with their personal care needs when they preferred. For example, a person said, “Shower they help me, I say I would like one and they arrange it, not really rushed, staff are kind, they work hard.”

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

Staff received training relevant to their role and the opportunity to undertake qualifications. This supported the staff team to meet people’s needs. Staff received one to one supervision meetings, which gave them the opportunity to raise any concerns, receive feedback about their work practice and identify any training needs.

There were notices posted in the service of support lines they could access if they were facing issues in their personal lives. Staff told us they felt supported by the registered manager and felt they could speak with them if they were having difficulties. A staff member told us how the shift patterns were done to support, for example, childcare needs.

There had been a recent development of wellbeing sessions for the staff to participate in if they chose to. The individual providing these sessions told us, “Six weeks ago the manager and I started offering 30 minute sessions on wellbeing for the staff, confidential. I am a listening ear, do healing and meditation with them.”