St Albans 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 service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.At our last assessment we rated this key question Requires Improvement: At this assessment the rating has improved to 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.

People were treated with kindness, compassion and dignity in their day-to-day care and support. People felt staff listened to them and communicated with them appropriately. People told us staff knew and understood their needs, preferences, wishes, personal histories and backgrounds. People were confident staff would respond to their needs quickly and efficiently, especially if they were in pain, discomfort, or distress.

People’s privacy and dignity was respected and always upheld. People were confident their personal information was treated confidentially, and we observed staff promoted their dignity in all aspects of life.

We observed a culture of kindness and respect between staff members, people and the management team.

People’s individual needs and preferences were clearly reflected in their care, treatment and support. People’s personal, cultural, social and religious needs were understood and encouraged.

Staff and management treated people as individuals, considering any relevant protected equality characteristics.

People were supported to exercise choice and control over their lives and to make decisions about their support and wellbeing. People were actively supported to maintain relationships and networks important to them including their friends and family. People were supported to live their lives in the local community and to access activities outside the home to promote and support their independence, health and wellbeing.

The registered manager was proud to show us the ‘wheel of engagement’. This shows the person at the centre and all engagements they have with external bodies, family, activities, friends forming a circle around the person.

Staff were alert to people’s needs and took the time to observe, communicate and engage people in discussions about their immediate needs.

Staff quickly recognised when people need urgent help or support and used appropriate tools and technology to assist.

People received safe, effective and person-centred support because the provider recognised and supported the wellbeing needs of staff.People benefited from staff who had regular opportunities to provide feedback, raise concerns and suggest ways to improve the service or staff experiences. Staff had easy access to personalised support that recognised the diversity of a workforce with proactive and reactive measures.

People were supported by staff who felt valued by their leaders and their colleagues. The provider had introduced a staff wellbeing app for staff to access 24/7 should they need support.