Elm House Care 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 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 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.

People and relatives all said the staff were very kind and caring. A relative said, “They have all been very friendly. As [relative] is new there, they have come in and explained who they are and have tried to encourage her to come down to the lounge.” Another relative said, “I would say that they are kind; some more than others but overall, I am happy.” A third said, “They are very good. The ones that I see regularly seem friendly and understanding.”

We observed staff talking respectfully to people during the assessment, and there was a positive rapport between people, staff and managers.

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences.

Staff were aware of people’s routines, and their likes and dislikes. We found that people could do activities at times which suited them, such as eating and drinking, getting up and going to bed, and personal care tasks.

A relative told us, “They are friendly, welcoming and if I take [relative] out, they will always greet her nicely when she comes back and ask her what she has done.” Another relative said, “Personally, I think Elm House has been good in making sure residents can do things they enjoy and are interested in. For example, they will regularly walk with my [relatives] up to the local shops, and they have also taken them out on 2 separate occasions to the local diner, which I think is good as it keeps them stimulated.”

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

A relative said, “The activities co-ordinator who is new, is really good. He is aware of how independent [relative] is. He sees the need of her wanting to do things and will try and involve her in things that give her a purpose.” Another relative said, “They always ask [relative] whether she wants to join in. She is always given the choice, and she sometimes does get involved. What is good is that they encourage her to do things”.

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.

We observed staff responding to people's needs in a timely manner. A relative said, “The staff are very good. They assist [relative], and they are attentive. There are quite a few staff members [relative] likes.”

Staff had good knowledge about how to support people at times to ease their concerns and discomfort. A relative told us, “I find they manage needs really well. If [relative] is unwell or has a temperature, they will get a nurse or a doctor in to see her. She has had a couple of hospital visits. This has been because of carers spotting that things were not quite right, like blood pressure being high.” Another relative commented, “It seems to come quite naturally to them. They seem to know how to deal with people with a condition like [relative’s] very well.”

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

The registered manager was planning to develop formal wellbeing initiatives to support staff, such as employee of the month, and rewarding staff for kind acts. Staff were supported with their wellbeing and issues in their personal lives; staff told us they felt supported and valued in their roles. The registered manager was committed to supporting staff with their welfare, and helped signpost them to other organisations which help manage any mental health needs.