Deer Park 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 provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated 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.

The service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations, such as the visiting mental health team, with kindness and respect. People and relatives told us staff were friendly and supportive, although 1 person said some staff could be aloof. The manager followed this issue up with staff. One person told us, “Staff are incredibly friendly, helpful and kind.” Another person said. “I think staff are great.” A relative said, “The care is excellent, we all feel very reassured knowing mum is here." Staff told us that it was important to help and respect people. We saw staff knocked and waited before entering peoples’ bedrooms. We observed good interactions between people and staff, where staff were relaxed, friendly and helpful. It was highlighted in information provided to staff by the provider that staff should always treat people with respect and dignity. The manager stated that staff were expected to provide a homely and supportive environment for people to live in.

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. People told us that staff treated them as individuals. This was emphasised to staff during their training. There was information in peoples’ care records which showed that peoples’ histories and their preferences and choices were recorded. This helped staff treat people as individuals. We saw staff talking to a person about their work experience, which showed they were aware of this important information, and it being used to value the person and their individual experiences.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People told us they were supported to promote their rights and had choice and control over how they wanted to be supported. They chose when to see visitors and to go out when they wanted to be with their friends and family or participate in activities. They confirmed they could choose what activities to take part in, or not to participate if that was their choice such as games and quizzes and cinema afternoons. One person told us, “I love it here, everyone is really nice. They (staff) support my independence, I clean my own room, they (staff) give me the polish.” Staff said they always promoted peoples' independence and would not take over from people if they could do things for themselves. They said people could choose what they wanted to do if they were able to do so. Care records contained information regarding how staff should respect peoples’ choices in how they lived their lives.

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. We observed that staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. People told us that staff responded to their needs and wishes, although 2 people said that call bells were not always responded to in a timely way. The manager followed this up by taking action to remind staff to answer call bells swiftly. We saw from care records that peoples’ medical needs had been responded to in a timely way by staff and management.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff. These include the necessary resource and facilities for safe working, such as regular breaks and rest areas. People benefited from staff who had regular opportunities to provide feedback, raise concerns and suggest ways to improve the service or staff experiences. If necessary, leaders provide a timely and considered response. Staff were supported if they are struggling at work. This has a positive impact on the care they deliver to people. For example, supporting staff member with caring responsibilities. Staff said the manager was always caring and supportive, had time to listen and act on their issues. We observed staff teams appeared happy carrying out their work. People were supported by staff who felt valued by their leaders and their colleagues. They had a sense of belonging and the ability to contribute to decision making.