The Evergreens Lodge

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

Staff always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and mostly respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

We observed staff demonstrating attentiveness, kindness, and consideration towards people living at The Evergreens Lodge. There were respectful interactions between staff and people.

People and their relatives told us, “Everyone in the home is so friendly and genuinely caring.” A member of staff told us they, “Treated each individual with dignity and respect, and involving them as active participants in decisions about their support.”

Staff were described as being, ‘Welcoming, very friendly, happy to answer any questions we may have and professional.’ Staff knew people’s preferences.A healthcare professional told us, “Staff see residents as individuals and treat them accordingly with respect, kindness and politely.”

Staff told us they knew people well and respected people’s confidentiality and privacy. However, we found confidential information was readily available to unauthorised people, as MAR had been left in a communal area where people and relatives were. The provider took immediate action following feedback from the inspection team.

Staff at The Evergreens Lodge 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. Staff were able to read care plans and learn about people’s culture and background to help get to know them. We saw staff were attentive with people in the home, they listened to them and respect their choices, for example during lunch and whilst supporting people.

Staff knew people well and told us about people's individual needs. People were able to decorate their rooms according to personal choice.

A healthcare professional told us, “All the staff know all the residents personally, know their backgrounds, ongoing needs or issues, like and dislikes and preferences.”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. This included people’s preferred way of communicating as well as how to support people with their physical and health needs. People told us they were involved with decisions about their care, such as what time they wished to go to bed and get up in the morning. We found people were offered choices, such as, what to eat, drink and where and how they wanted to spend their time.

Staff understood people’s individual needs well and how they wished to be supported day to day and said, “Encouraging them to undertake the task instead of assisting them. Giving them a choice for instance, what they would like to wear, what would like to have for breakfast, what drink if they prefer, tea or coffee? It’s different for each resident some our more independent than others but then that where our training comes into place of knowing the different approaches so that all our residents can be as independent as possible regardless of their conditions.”

People were supported by regular staff who knew them well and were supported to have choice and control and were involved in planning their care.

Relatives told us staff promoted their loved one’s independence and encouraged them to do as much for themselves as they could.

Staff and managers supported people to keep in contact with those who were important to them so they could maintain important relationships. A relative said, “I have had very good conversations about my loved one with the staff. I do believe I would always be listened to and that action would be taken.”

Staff 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.

People told us they received care and support from staff they were familiar with and there was consistency and continuity of staff. Staff told us, “In many conversations with our residents they tell me how much they enjoy being here and the activities and days out that are provided.” A relative told us, “Staff respect their loved one’s wishes and know their mannerisms and preferences well.”

We observed staff responded quickly to people and provided reassurance appropriately. We also observed they responded to call bells in a timely way, which was confirmed when we reviewed the provider’s call bell analysis.

A healthcare professional told us, “If there is any concern or need of support, the staff are straight on to the GP, DN team or myself for advice and guidance.”

The provider did not always care about and promote the wellbeing of their staff.

Staff were positive about the support they received from the registered manager. Staff told us the team morale was positive at the time, and the registered manager listened and responded to any concerns. They also told us they attended team meetings which they found useful and helped their well-being at work. One to one supervision meetings provided staff with a forum to receive feedback, raise any concerns and identify any training needs. A staff member told us, “In my one-to-one supervision I get the chance to talk about what’s going well, I get feedback shared with me and get chance to discuss any training or development needs.”

Shortly after our visit we received several concerns from staff about how their wellbeing had deteriorated due to the culture not being conducive to open conversations. The provider informed us of the systems in place for staff welfare, such as ‘staff bonuses and annual raises, and maintain a low turnover through fair remuneration, training opportunities, and a supportive work culture.’