Bridge House Residential 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 changed to requires improvement. This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.

This service scored 60 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity.

People told us staff were kind and caring. We observed staff being patient and encouraging when interacting with people. When asked if staff supported them in a way they wanted and needed, one person told us, “Yes, they do anything I need, if I ask them to do something they do it.”

People said they were assisted with their care, had clean clothes and had their hair done by a visiting hairdresser. People told us, “My clothes get washed and pressed. I see the hairdresser for a trim” and “I have a good wash or a shower when I feel well enough, staff help me.” The relative of one also added, “When I see [relative] they always look clean, and their clothes.”

Whilst people looked clean and were appropriately dressed, a review of records did not clearly show how people were supported in meeting their personal care needs. Records provided little evidence of people’s oral care needs being met or the frequency in which people were supported to shower or bathe. In addition, we found some people did not appear to have some toiletries and where toothbrushes and paste were available, they did not always appear to have been used.

We did not look at Treating people as individuals during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

The provider did not always promote people’s independence, so people had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People told us there was little opportunity provided for them to access the local and wider community. People told us, “I very seldom get to go out. We don’t go on trips, I would like that, I would like to go to Southport”, “I go out for a cigarette; I sit in the garden when it is nice weather. We had day trips now and again, but it was while ago” and “I can sit in the garden, but I don’t go anywhere else.” One person’s relative said they had spoken with another visitor. Both felt there was not enough going on to motivate their family members. They said staff had told them more staff were to be employed to help stimulate them.

Some people felt not all staff understood their needs and how they wanted to be supported. People told us, “They don’t always understand what I want but they usually do” and “Some of them do, those that are really interested in you.”

People did say they were able to follow routines of their own choosing, for example rising and retiring or where they spent their time. Some people preferred the privacy of their own room, which was respected. Whilst others spent time in communal areas. People told us, “Oh yes, I have a routine, I get up at 8 am and go to bed between 7pm and 8pm at night, it is an understanding we have” and “I can get up when I want and go to bed an hour after supper.”

People had access to necessary equipment to help promote and enable them to maintain their independence and movement around the home.

People did not always receive care and support in a timely way.

Staff spoken with said both the morning shift and the night shift were short staffed. This was supported by people we spoke with. Comments included, “You don’t see much of the staff in the morning as they are getting people up so it can only be expected”, “Sometimes you have to walk around to find one [carer], but they are usually around” and “I have to get up according to when the staff are ready to help me, sometimes I have to wait a while. I have to wait for someone to take me to bed and I get tired.”

Staff acknowledged there were times when people were not always observed and engaged with due to the size of the building and the level of support some people required. Our observations supported what we had been told, for example, there was one instance where a person was heard shouting as they were frustrated at having to wait to be taken back to the lounge, as they required the use of a wheelchair and needed support to do so. One staff member told us, “When the activities coordinator is here, they help to observe communal areas, when they are not here, they [people] are not being supervised.”

People did say they had access to a call bell to alert staff if they need help. People said staff would respond quickly, however this would depend on if they were busy.

We did not look at Workforce wellbeing and enablement during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.