Cairn 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 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.

We saw staff to be person-centred and kind to people. People and their relatives told us staff were caring and respectful. A relative told us, “The thing I like the most, is they treat residents as individuals.” And a person told us, “They [staff] are very caring.” Staff were observed knocking on people’s doors to maintain dignity. A staff member told us, “It’s important to respect that this is their home.”

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.

People were supported and encouraged to maintain social lives outside the home and a member of the local church visited the service regularly, for those who wanted to participate. People were able to express preferences on their care and this was respected and documented in their care plans. Staff knew people’s individual likes, dislikes and daily routines. One staff member evidenced good knowledge of people’s needs during the dinner service and informed Inspectors of each person’s individual preferences.

One relative told us, “The home keeps the people that live there, part of the local community.”

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

One staff member told us, “There is a good culture of independence in the home, with staff supporting residents out when they want to go somewhere. We go for pub lunches and trips out when the weather is warmer.” One person told us, “A group of us go up to the bar and I have a glass of Sherry. That’s good fun, we do a lot of laughing.”

People had choice over their daily routines with one person commenting, “I can have a bath any time I like.”

Some people living at the service had sensory needs and there was appropriate equipment in place to support them at mealtimes, such as bright and dark coloured plates. We saw staff telling people what was on their plate and in what section. One person told us about additional technology they had in place to support their independence. They told us, “I have a reader to support me in reading printed sheets and a Daisy CD player.”

Daisy CD players are designed for people who are blind or have low vision. They play back audio books produced in the DAISY format.

Staff did not always respond to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

When asked about staff responding to call-bells, one person told us, “Sometimes staff take a while but often they respond in good time.” Whilst another person told us, “You have to take your turn with buzzers, but you can pull the emergency cord, and all staff will come quick.” Some staff also highlighted response times to call bells as an area which requires improvement. The service is currently in the process of having a new call bell system in place which may support managers in auditing call bell response times more effectively.

Staff were observed to respond to care needs in a supportive manner. When asked if people felt listened to, one person told us, “We have resident meetings where we can discuss how we feel and can knock on their [managers] door if we have a problem.”

People were seen during the inspection to enter the managers’ office and interactions were positive in addressing the concerns people had.

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

We received mixed feedback from staff regarding staff wellbeing. One staff member discussed with inspectors the reasonable adjustment that they had in place to enable them to work due to health issues. They told us, “Management have been very supportive during this time.” Another staff member told us, “They’re [managers] door is always open so you can voice what is upsetting you. They are good listeners.” However, other staff members told us that they don’t feel supported or treated in a way that supports their own well-being. With one staff member telling us, “I don’t feel I can approach them [managers] with my issues.”

Systems and processes were in place to support staff in their role, for example through supervision and staff meetings. However, some staff told us that staff meetings did not always culture the opportunity for staff to provide feedback and feel listened to. It was felt by some staff that more positive recognition was required by managers to enable a work culture that normalised good wellbeing amongst all staff.