Bales Court

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.

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.

We observed kind interactions between staff and people. Staff were playing games with people such as building block towers and a mini snooker game. People and staff shared humour together, which led to an atmosphere of homeliness and community. Relatives confirmed this, with one relative telling us, “The staff have a sense of humour and enjoy the work with the [people].” Another relative told us, “People laugh and joke with the staff who interact using nonverbal communication and gestures.”

People’s dignity was preserved and respected. One person required a change of clothing during our inspection. Staff discreetly supported them to their bedroom and changed their clothing before supporting them back into the communal space.

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.

Staff knew people well, what was important to them and their likes and dislikes. Where possible, staff had been matched with people where they had identified common interests. For example, one person was matched to two keyworkers as they preferred male company and watching transport videos on YouTube.

The manager was working towards trialling an inclusive cycling provider, so people who were interested in cycling would be able to partake with equipment adapted to their needs. They had also arranged a mobility vehicle for the service. This meant people would be able to access more activities or places of interest to them in the community. For example, one person enjoyed looking at planes. The manager told us of their plan to support the person to visit a local aerodrome and aviation museum.

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

We observed staff offering people visual choices when making decisions such as what they would like to drink. Furthermore, we observed staff supporting people to make their own drinks where safe to do so. A staff member told us, “We always give them choices.” The deputy manager said, “[Person] will point to say she wants a cup of tea. So, I encouraged her to do it together. She’ll put the milk and tea bag in.” A relative confirmed, “Pictures of meals are used to help [person] choose what to eat.”

The deputy manager told us they had plans to start individualised cooking sessions with people to help encourage their independence.

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.

During our assessment, one person became upset and unsettled. Their keyworker immediately comforted them and offered to take them out into the community for a coffee which instantly relaxed them and made them less anxious.

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.