Gerard Road

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. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. People and relatives told us staff were kind, caring and fun to be around. One elative said, “When we do visit, it's always pleasant and the atmosphere is good and happy. Staff are always very pleasant and kind and know [family member] very well.” Staff interacted well with people and showed kindness and understanding. There were no evidence of closed cultures and staff we spoke with told us they promoted people's independence and choices. (A closed culture is a poor culture that can lead to harm, including human rights breaches such as abuse).

The provider had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. Staff listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. Accidents and incidents were analysed and trends and patterns identified to improve practice. A discussion was held following incidents to identify the root cause and to look at what could happen in the future to prevent such events. Staff were guided through a learning process to help them understand anything that went wrong.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People had activity and occupation support plans in place. A company vehicle was available for people to use. Extra space in the quiet room situated in the basement had helped people to relax. One person had been supported to purchase a new camera, and staff assisted them to access local countryside to go birdwatching, which they enjoyed. The registered manager had instigated the implementation of a safe in each person’s bedroom, to give people more control over their possessions.

The provider had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. Staff listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. Accidents and incidents were analysed and trends and patterns identified to improve practice. A discussion was held following incidents to identify the root cause and to look at what could happen in the future to prevent such events. Staff were guided through a learning process to help them understand anything that went wrong.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. The provider promoted staff wellbeing by offering incentives such as flexible working arrangements, and an employee assistance program. The provider paid for 1 staff member to complete driving lessons which benefited the service as they were able to drive the company vehicle. The provider had a ‘my safe forum,’ where the human resources department took staff out for lunch and gave staff the opportunity for an informal discussion.