Seabourne House Care 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 service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. This is the first assessment for this Seabourne House Care Home. This key question has been rated Good. This meant people were respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service. People and their relatives told us staff were kind and caring. We saw positive interactions during the inspection. People were treated with dignity and respect. The provider had systems and processes in place to promote and support staff wellbeing.

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.

Staff always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected people’s privacy and dignity. People told us they were treated with compassion and dignity in their day-to-day care and support. One person said, “[Staff] are very helpful and take time. Sometimes, I get upset and they will take the time to have a chat with me.” Another person told us, “The girls on the ground floor are friendly and chatty. I get on well with them.” One relative told us, “Staff always seem very caring, seem to get on well with each other, always seem to have activities. [My family member] doesn’t join in, but watches. Staff try to help [my family member] to join in.” Staff told us they always respected and upheld people’s dignity. One staff member said, “I'm really proud of myself that I am part of [the provider] from the beginning. I have improved myself, gained lots of knowledge, they have helped me with training, and I really engaged with the residents, it comes from the heart. I used to take care of my grandma and this company care for the resident like they are their own family.” We observed people joining in various activities throughout our inspection. The service had a team of staff dedicated to providing regular entertainment to people which was planned ahead of time. The staff ensured every person’s birthday was celebrated with a cake. The service was proactive in identifying people who were at risk of isolation. There was a process in place to ensure people who were less socially active were identified and steps taken to maintain a strong social relationship with each person. The service regularly developed and tried new ways to keep people engaged. They sought feedback from people to establish which activities were popular in order to understand people and include their preferences and wishes when planning new projects.

The service treated people as individuals and ensured people’s care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. The service took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. People’s care plans were person centred, inclusive and provided staff with information on how to fully meet people’s needs. People told us they were treated with respect. Comments included, “[Staff] know me well”, and “[Staff] treat each person as an individual with dignity and respect.” A relative told us, “[My family member] does not respond to anything really, however on Monday when I went to visit, [family member] was in the lounge. There were some residents there, TV on, an Occupational Therapist (OT) came in with a beach ball and balloons, changed the music. People were throwing beach balls, it was incredible. [My family member] can't lift, so the OT gave [my family member] a balloon and [my family member] smiled. I asked [my family member] to throw it and [my family member] did. It was seeing everybody was engaged, it was amazing. Within minutes from being half asleep to taking part.” We observed staff treating people as individuals, considering any relevant protected equality characteristics. Staff supported one person to pray before their meal came. Staff told us they did that every day as the person liked to say grace. Staff knew people well and understood people’s individual needs and preferences. A staff member said, “Dignity means that when I assist a resident, I cover them, I knock the door, I give them choice. When we assist, I need to ask them, I sit in front of them when assisting to eat. I treat every resident in the same way, I can't discriminate them their culture, religion, colour.” The service held weekly spiritual sessions. The chaplain ensured these were accessible to everyone. The service sought feedback from people through regular residents’ meetings.

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

Relatives were complimentary about the service and told us they always felt welcomed when visiting their loved ones. Comments included, “I’m here almost every day. My [sibling] and I visit whenever we want and staff are always welcoming and helpful”, “I’m here almost every day; all day and it is never an issue”, and “We are here all the time. Before [my family member] moved in, we came unannounced, and staff were very welcoming. They were also very welcoming from the first day.”

Staff told us they knew people well and understood how to support them to have choice and control over their own care and to make decisions about their care, treatment and wellbeing. One staff member said, “According to their needs and preferences some residents are vegetarian, and we offer vegan options as well. “ Another staff member told us, “We ask people do you like to get dressed now or later, it's up to them. We show them choices (of clothing).”

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. Comments included, “We are involved. I had my eye on this place for a while and they let me know when a place became available, and we moved [family member] in. Staff always sort things out and we have nothing to worry about”, “I am very pleased with how [family member] is looked after”, and “[Family member] needed to see a GP, so [the service] organised it and phoned me afterwards and informed me after GP visit.”

Care plans to support people who displayed distress or anxiety due to their medical conditions, included clear guidance and instructions for staff on how to support during times of distress. We observed meaningful interactions between staff and people, which showed staff knew people well and knew how to communicate with them. Staff listened and offered reassurance to a person who appeared distressed. The person hugged the member of staff then smiled afterwards.

A relative told us the service quickly recognised their family member’s need and supported them to use a new piece of equipment to support their mobility. The service then ordered the equipment for the person to use when mobilising.

The manager told us the service organised additional training for staff in response to 1 person’s needs, enabling them to respond quickly and effectively to the person’s health condition.

The service recognised the importance of supporting relatives. The service also offered training to relatives to help them understand their family members’ dementia diagnosis. A relative told us, “I felt it very useful to all be facing things with the same ideas and thoughts in mind. The training was very well presented and relevant to the issues I had questions about. I felt I gained insight into the issues surrounding Dementia and was able to use this moving forward.”

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff,and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. The provider had a diverse workforce and supplied additional training in British values and English lessons. These were appreciated by staff. Staff told us the trainer was “grounded and versatile”, and the lessons were interesting. Staff told us they felt very well supported by the management team and the provider. One staff member said, “This company really appreciates the staff for their work. They provide us with all the training we need, and we can ask for any other training we feel we need. They do appreciate us, they do employee of the month. It's nice to get the chance to go out somewhere nice with the voucher you're awarded. We can take part in the activities and Head of people looks after the staff, she puts on yoga for us.” Another staff member told us, “Best thing is that from the beginning they have respected my religion. For example, for 1 month a year we fast. The staff always remember to give us good wishes, they ask if we are ok and that means a lot to us. We have a particular time to eat, evening time they manage to give us 1 by 1 a break at this time. From the beginning I was scared what I would do with my head scarf, but the trainer said you are absolutely ok to wear it. It means a lot to me. I do prayer as well, the managers support me to do this.” Feedback from staff surveys was positive with nearly all staff feeling supported and valued by the service. The provider offered an employee assistance programme with access to a range of welfare services. This promoted staff’s wellbeing.