Fairfield 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.

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

We observed staff demonstrating attentiveness, kindness, and consideration towards people living at Fairfield House. There were respectful interactions between staff and people. Staff told us they knew people well and respected people’s confidentiality and privacy.

Language used both towards people and in their care records was appropriate and respectful. People and their relatives told us, “Fairfield is a place where people are treated with dignity and kindness.”

Staff could describe people they supported and tell us about people’s special interests and experiences prior to living at Fairfield House. A healthcare professional told us, “The whole team treat their residents and families with care and consideration.”

Staff at Fairfield House 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 were able to read and learn about people’s culture and background to help get to know them. We saw staff were very attentive with all people in the home, making sure they listened to them and respecting their choices, for example during the lunch and whilst supporting people.

Staff knew people well and could tell us about people's individual needs.

Staff told us, “I try to make their life better through kind interactions, patience, and emotional support.” They added “I focus on the individual's preferences, values, and unique circumstances.”

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

This included people’s preferred way of communicating as well as how to support people with their physical and health needs. People told us they were involved with decisions about their care, such as what time they wished to go to bed and get up in the morning. We saw people were offered choices, such as, what to eat, drink and where; and how they wanted to spend their time.

Staff understood people’s individual needs well and how they wished to be supported day to day and said, “We have been trained to respect residents’ independence and choice.”

Relatives told us staff promoted their family member’s independence and encouraged them to do as much for themselves as they could.

People were able to spend time with others that were important to them, and staff supported people to facilitate and maintain relationships with friends and family.

Staff and managers supported people to keep in contact with those who were important to them so they could maintain important relationships. A relative said, “This was important for people’s continued wellbeing and comfort.”

The provider did not always listen to and understand people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff did not always respond to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

People told us they received care and support from staff they were familiar with and there was consistency and continuity during the daytime, however opinions differed for people’s experience during the night. One relative told us, “The majority of the care staff are not from the UK and English is a second language. Generally, they are friendly and polite, but we do find that poor language skills can be a barrier to communication, both in person and on the phone. This also contributes to X’s frustration and challenging behaviour, as he feels he is not listened to or understood. He can't be assisted to get out of bed at night because they are 'too busy'.” We informed the management team and provider who said staffing levels were consistent in line with people’s individual and group needs 24 hours a day. However, they agreed to look into this immediately.

We observed staff responded quickly to people and provided reassurance appropriately. We also observed they responded to call bells in a timely way, which was confirmed when we reviewed the provider’s regular call bell analysis.

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

Staff we spoke with said they were well supported by the managers in the service. They told us they were happy working in the home and felt well treated by managers. However, staff opinions differed regarding their wellbeing. We discussed this with the provider and the management team who were currently reviewing the staff handbook and would include more information about what is available to support staff wellbeing. The provider was planning on attending a staff meeting imminently and said they would reiterate what the service offer for wellbeing and recognition of staff. The service celebrated ‘staff of the month’ which was a member of staff who had been nominated by colleagues for their work.

The majority of staff we spoke with told us they enjoyed their jobs and felt supported both professionally and personally by the management team. Staff told us, “Fairfield has helped me grow in my role as a healthcare assistant with trainings giving to me, staff are able to approach management, they encourage teamwork which make the working atmosphere positive.”

Compliments and staff recognition were displayed in the home and shared with the staff during meetings.