Choices for Living Well (Killelea)

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 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 service was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. People spoke highly of staff and with great fondness. Comments included, “It’s like heaven here coming from hospital” and “The carers are all brilliant, we have a good laugh, it’s a bit like a holiday camp at times!” and “Everyone is so lovely, welcoming and friendly. I’ll honestly miss it here when I go home.” During our assessment visit, a person asked to speak with us. This person explained how they had previously used the service, and how during their stay, staff had been “fantastically caring and supportive,” so much so, they regularly called back in to greet staff and reiterate how important their stay had been within their personal recovery journey.

Whilst speaking with members of the nursing team, we also heard testimony about the exceptional caring actions of a colleague who had gone above and beyond in supporting a person who used the service to attend the funeral of a loved one who had recently died. There was a risk this person could not attend the funeral due to barriers including their oxygen use and a need for accessible transport. Faced with these barriers, the person had become upset by this and had expressed how important it was to say their farewells. The nurse recognised the emotional impact that not attending could have on this person’s wellbeing, so to support their wishes safely, the nurse readily volunteered to use their own wheelchair adapted vehicle and ensured oxygen was available if required. The appropriate insurance cover was in place, and the member of staff accompanied the person to the funeral and then on to the wake afterwards, ensuring their dignity, comfort and emotional needs were prioritised throughout.

The provider treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The provider took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

The service had adopted the FREDA principles of fairness, respect, equality, dignity, and autonomy. Staff and leaders fully understood that without rights-respecting care, people’s human rights could not be truly upheld, respected, valued and celebrated. The service always sought to ensure the needs of people from diverse backgrounds were met in a holistic way, and that information about people was captured and actioned in a meaningful way. For example, the team applied the FREDA principles throughout the care of an individual who brought their therapy dog to support recovery. Fairness was demonstrated by adapting the care plan so the person could safely keep their dog with them without disrupting access to therapy or clinical input. Staff showed Respect by recognising the emotional importance of the dog and engaging positively with both patient and the dog. Equality was upheld by ensuring this person received information on unit policies and infection control in an accessible, non-judgemental way. This person’s Dignity was protected by maintaining privacy during personal care while the dog was safely supervised. Autonomy was supported by involving this person in decisions about how the therapy sessions and daily routines could incorporate their dog appropriately. This golden thread ran through all aspects of service delivery and was completely embedded into a rights-respecting approach.

The service supported a year-round calendar of diverse events that reflect the richness and diversity of the communities they served. This ranged from celebrations to mark significant dates in the religious calendar; celebrating food and flavours from around the world; and inclusive days and month-long events marking key moments in cultural history. Comments from people included, “We recently had a Remembrance Day event, and it was so lovely, very moving, but also a celebration. I didn’t expect to be involved in all that whilst I was getting my rehab!” A member of staff commented, “It’s always amazing to see our customers and staff alike getting involved and celebrating events in the service. It makes it a special place to work.”

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. Comments from people included, “I am waiting for the optician to come in and sort my glasses out which I have arranged myself. They don't take your independence away from you here you are encouraged to do things for yourself” and “I do my own medication as I did my own at home.”

Ensuring people could access meaningful, person-centred activities was one of the key stand-out successes of the service. For example, a highly successful collaboration had been forged with a local high school through a project called ‘Art to Heart’. As part of this initiative, groups of Year 7 students visited the service to take part in weekly art sessions with the people, providing students with a safe place to take their first steps into working within the local community and forming new bonds between the generations. During our assessment visit we observed one of the sessions and observed first-hand how this provided people with the benefits of therapeutic art activities, mental stimulation and social interaction with students. It also clearly provided people with a sense of wellbeing and accomplishment from their artistic achievements.

One of the most moving and inspiring aspects of this work, was the testimony provided by the people and students themselves. Comments from people included, “We can both learn from each other’s generations. It benefits us both” and “The session last week was the highlight of my week. I hadn’t come out of my room before then.” Comments from students included, “I was nervous to come, but I’ve really enjoyed that. I shall come again next time” and “I’m really happy I signed up; the residents were funny and happy to see us and they enjoyed getting involved.” Perhaps the most touching of all, a student was asked ‘What was the best thing about your session today?’ they replied, “Having the chance to speak to older people, because I don’t have grandparents.”

The provider was exceptional in how they 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.

Through its integrated partnership with the NHS, a framework entitled Observe, Listen, and Act had been implemented in the service. This innovative framework sought to enhance service quality, foster effective communication, and ensure the welfare of both people and care providers. This approach involved a strategic process of observation, active listening, and prompt action, designed to address issues proactively and improve overall care standards. Through our own observations of practice, we saw this framework was working exceptionally well. We saw people were supported in a timely way and heard warm words of reassurance and encouragement from kind and patient staff, who spent time with people in a meaningful way. Comments from people included, “If you press the buzzer they come quite quickly. If you need an answer to anything its instant, its brilliant.”

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. We spoke at length with a cross section of staff and there was common agreement that wellbeing was a priority in the service. We were told the registered manager had played a big role in this, providing stability and an ‘open door’ management approach if any issues arose. An employee of the month celebration took place, and staff had access to a variety of workplace benefits that sought to support wellbeing.