Woodway House

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 65 (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 spoke positively about the kindness and approachability of staff. One person told us, “The carers are all lovely and kind,” while another said they felt well cared for because, “Nothing is too much trouble for them.”

One staff member described their approach to providing compassionate care, saying they treated people with kindness “because everyone is different,” and explained this meant respecting each person’s individuality, preferences and the way they wished to be supported.

Staff were observed knocking on people’s doors before entering and addressing people by their preferred names.

One professional gave an example where a person became anxious about another individual living in the home. Staff supported them to spend time together and also ensured the person continued to have opportunities to take part in activities that were important to them.

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 and their relatives told us staff treated people as individuals and respected what was important to them. Bedrooms reflected people’s personal tastes, and relatives confirmed people were supported to bring in items from home such as equipment, pictures and ornaments. People were also supported to celebrate special occasions. During the inspection, staff and people were heard singing happy birthday to a person, and staff had arranged a birthday cake to celebrate the occasion.

Staff gave examples of how they considered and responded to people’s individual preferences. One staff member told us about a person who liked to attend church on Sundays. On one occasion, their usual taxi had not been pre‑booked, so staff arranged alternative transport to ensure the person could still attend, recognising how important this was to them. Another example included supporting a person who enjoyed playing the keyboard, enabling them to share their music with people living in the home.

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

Some people told us their preferred routines were not always respected, particularly in relation to the timing of their morning support. One person said staff sometimes arrived at 6:30am which they felt was too early and meant they were woken before they wished. Another person told us they had agreed a preferred time to get up, but this was not consistently followed, explaining that staff were now arriving “later and later sometimes after 10am,” which they felt was too late.

People were supported to maintain contact with friends and family. Some people had their own mobile phones, and staff provided additional support where needed. Staff gave examples such as making calls on people’s behalf and ensuring calls were made at appropriate times, including when contacting relatives who lived overseas.

Processes for recording and acting on people’s preferred routines required improvement to ensure staff had clear information to support people’s independence, choice and control.

The provider did not always listen to and understand people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff did not always respond to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Some people told us they often experienced delays when requesting support, and this affected their ability to have their needs met when they required assistance. One person described long waits, saying staff often told them they would return shortly but did not, explaining they could be left “for half an hour, sometimes longer,” which meant “a long time waiting to be taken to meals.” Another person said staff were often too busy to respond promptly, explaining that although they were encouraged to use the call bell, but said, “it’s not always as easy as it sounds” because waits could be lengthy when staff were short on time. We reviewed one person’s care records and found their immediate needs were not always responded to as promptly as they could have been. The person reported experiencing discomfort related to their digestion. Staff explained they were unable to provide any medication, but the concern was not referred to the GP until the person mentioned it again three days later to another member of staff. This led to a delay in seeking clinical advice, which may have prolonged the person’s discomfort. Whilst this delay had an impact on one person, we did not find similar delays in GP support for others living in the home.

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

Staff told us they felt valued and well supported in their roles. One staff member said they were happy working at the service and felt supported by the registered manager. They explained the manager had been flexible in accommodating their caring responsibilities, allowing them to work set shifts, which helped them balance their work and home life.

The registered manager told us staff were recognised for their contributions, explaining that bonuses were offered throughout the year and not only at Christmas.