Andover Nursing 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 outstanding. 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.

There was a friendly and welcoming atmosphere at the service. We observed people responded positively to staff; they were smiling and chatting. We observed staff sitting and engaging with people, sometimes talking, or playing games. Music was playing in one of the lounges we sat in, and we observed staff singing along and dancing with people. People and their relative’s told us staff were kind, caring and attentive. One person told us, “Staff are good here and care about me.” A relative told us, “The staff are kind and good with my relative who is as safe and happy as they could be.”

People could receive visitors when they wanted. When visitors came to the home there were private spaces both inside and outside the home which people could use.

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

Most people and relatives told us they engaged in care planning. One person told us, “I have seen my care plans, and my son is involved in telling the provider what I need.” A relative told us, “The best thing is the level of personalisation of the care for each resident and the staff do seem to enjoy the caring. It is more than I ever hoped for.”

Where people had learning disabilities or were autistic the registered manager worked with relatives to ensure people’s individual goals and aspirations were understood.

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 told us people had choice and control over every aspect of their lives. People told us they choose what to wear, when to get up and go to bed and chose their meals. We observed staff offering people choice and responding to their wishes throughout the inspection. People who were able to communicate their needs were supported with their sexuality in a positive and inclusive way.

Where people had a learning disability or were autistic, care plans described how to communicate with them and described their likes and preferences. However, we found relationships and expressing sexuality had not always been considered where people were unable to verbally communicate their needs. We encouraged the registered manager to discuss this with their learning disability team.

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 registered manager told us most staff had worked in the service for several years and knew people well and were able to anticipate people’s needs. During lunchtime we observed an interaction between 2 people, 1 person became very anxious. When alerted to the situation a staff member calmly and sensitively managed the situation.

Throughout the inspection we observed staff responded quickly when requests were made and were quick to react when people required support with personal care or were upset.

Where people could not communicate verbally, we observed some interactions between staff and people which demonstrated relationships were caring and compassionate, enabling staff to meet people’s needs in ways which reduced and mitigated people’s discomfort and distress.

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

All staff members we spoke with told us they felt valued, respected, and supported within their roles. One staff member told us, “I have access to employment advice” and another staff member told us, “I think it is an Inclusive workforce which includes everyone, no one is discriminated against.” Staff told us if they had any problems the registered manager would listen and support them.