Goatacre Manor Care Centre

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 were complimentary about the staff and the way they were treated. Comments included “I can’t fault them quite honestly. Very helpful and understanding,” and “They are super, excellent. Not all uniformly brilliant but all uniformly very caring, very skilled and very friendly.” Relatives were equally positive about the staff. One relative told us, “The staff are so lovely, some just stand out as just being special. They’re so caring.”

Records of staff meetings showed privacy and dignity were regularly discussed, and training formed part of the provider’s mandatory training plan. Staff clearly described how they promoted people’s rights and applied this in practice throughout the inspection. This included addressing people by their preferred name and communicating in a respectful, friendly manner. Staff were complimentary about a person’s hair or outfit as they passed by, and used phrases such as “Take your time, there’s no rush.” This demonstrated a caring approach and a friendly, positive environment.

The provider 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.

People told us staff knew them well and their preferences were respected. This included their wish of being supported by a male or female member of staff. One person told us staff enabled them to continue practicing their chosen religion as they knew this was important to them. They said “Every Sunday, they never forget. They are so good, so understanding.”

Activities were organised in line with people’s preferences. People participated well and enjoyed the quiz and book club, which were regular events. There was painted artwork in the corridors of people’s handprints. Each had an individual phrase about the hands, which was important to the person. A staff member told us, “It was really personalised and turned into a lovely reminiscence session, as people shared memorable experiences of what their hands had done or touched. It was really lovely.”

Staff demonstrated they were aware of people’s likes, dislikes and earlier lives. This included information about their families, occupations and interests. One staff member told us it was important to know this, to help understand the person’s individuality. Another member of staff said they always talked to people about their family or interests. This helped build relationships and put people at ease.

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

People told us they were able to go out when they wanted and have visitors at any time. They said they could choose their meals from a menu and eat where they wanted. This included having meals delivered to their room or in the garden in the better weather. There were a range of activities people could join in with, but some people chose to remain in their room and spend their time quietly. People told us their choices were always respected.

Leaders and staff told us people were encouraged to be as independent as possible and make choices throughout the day. This included when to get up, how to spend their day and what to eat and drink. One staff member told us, “We always ask the person if they would like to see their visitor as we have the choice to ignore our doorbell if we want to. Why shouldn’t they be able to say, not today thank you?”

Information within care plans informed staff how to promote people’s rights to choice and independence. This included what people were able to do for themselves and when they needed staff support. We observed equipment was used to promote independence. This included plate guards to enable some people to eat more easily.

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 answered call bells quickly and responded to people’s requests in a timely manner. They regularly asked people if they were alright or if they needed anything. When people were anxious or upset, we saw that staff acted quickly to help people feel safe and calm.

Records showed staff responded quickly to any changes in people’s health needs. They completed the person’s observations and informed the GP or emergency services as needed. Health care professionals confirmed this, and said decisions staff made were appropriate and enabled timely treatment.

Nursing and care staff were given a handover sheet at the start of their shift. This contained key information about people’s needs and their current presentation. The information was used to ensure staff were up to date with people’s immediate needs and minimise the risk of anything being missed. Leaders told us it had been successful, especially when staff had returned to work following days off or annual leave.

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

Leaders told us they valued the staff team and believed promoting their wellbeing was important. They said they did this by being readily available for advice and support, and initiatives such as employee of the month. The employee of the month, recognised staff member’s contribution to the service and awarded them with a small gift. Leaders told us they aimed to be approachable and talk anything through, whilst finding solutions together.

Staff told us they felt valued, appreciated and well supported by the management team. They said they were always informed of any compliments received about the service and thought the initiatives available were beneficial. They said both aspects promoted overall wellbeing, and the feeling of being valued. This in turn helped morale and support within the team.