HF Trust Gaston 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 provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. At our last ratings 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 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. During our inspection we observed and heard supportive and kindly interactions between people and the staff supporting them. Staff were respectful and spoke about people with care and compassion. A relative told us, “Every time I go, it is calm in the house. It is a nice atmosphere.” Another relative said, “The staff are wonderful and talk to them nicely.” The registered manager told us it was important they only recruited staff who interacted positively with people and had the right values to support people living in the home. Potential new staff were invited to visit the home and people’s responses and reactions were considered in deciding if they were suitable. The registered manager explained, "[Name] gets very involved, asking them lots of questions. I need to see the interaction with the people we support because staff are coming into their home. If that interaction is not there, then I don't think they are the right people."

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 had monthly meetings to ensure their individual preferences were known, such as what they wanted to eat and what outings they would like to participate in. Communication plans informed staff how people indicated their individual preferences and choices.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Staff understood their role in supporting people to learn and maintain everyday life skills to promote and maintain their independence. For example, where people were able to, they were encouraged to make their own drinks, help prepare their meals and assist staff in laundry and domestic tasks. Care plans were clear about what people could do for themselves, when they needed prompting and when they needed full support. During our assessment we saw staff assisting 1 person to prepare their own sandwiches using hand over hand support to help them complete the task. Another person was supported to make their bed and tidy their bedroom. One staff member told us, “As support workers it is important to assume people can before they can't and that is what is nice now, seeing the guys so involved. At the end of the day this is their home, and it is important to remember that." At our last assessment we found activities were completed on an ad-hoc basis rather than being planned as a regular part of people's lives. At this assessment we found action had been taken to identify what was important to people and offer them opportunities for meaningful engagement both inside and outside the home. Where people required 1 to 1 support to enable them to pursue individual interests or activities, the registered manager ensured this was in place. One staff member told us, “Going out is more centred on what the guys want to do and doing things that weren’t available to them before.” People were also encouraged to maintain relationships that were important to them. During our assessment 1 person was supported to have tea and spend time with a friend from another service. Relatives confirmed staff supported their family members to stay in touch with them and attend family occasions.

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 inspection we saw staff responding to people’s immediate needs. Staff were aware of people and recognised when they were becoming anxious or distressed. Staff understood what could increase people’s anxiety and responded promptly to provide reassurance

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to deliver person-centred care. The registered manager recognised the challenges of responding to complex situations and offered staff opportunities to reflect on their working day. This was through formal supervision meetings and informal chats. Staff told us if they had an issue, they felt they could raise it with their managers and they would be listened to. One staff member told us how they had shared concerns about completing their training in a timely way. The registered manager had responded by giving staff allocated time on the rota to complete required learning. The provider offered staff a range of benefits and support. The registered manager explained, “There is a colleague support number that staff can ring confidentially, all the information about that is on the hub which staff can access.” A member of staff confirmed, “We have got the hub which is our home page, and it has all the apps on there that we need. It has got HFT (the provider’s) benefits on it."