Southborough 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. 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. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. Staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. A person told us, “The staff are extremely nice and I do like it here. They help me with everything I need.” A relative said, “They treat people with dignity and respect.” Staff did know people well and spoke to people in a caring manner, staff were aware of their likes, dislikes and preferences. However, during our observation’s interaction was minimal and mainly involved staff speaking to people about the tasks they were undertaking.

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. People told us staff treated them as individuals and understood their needs and wishes. Relatives told us staff knew their family members well. One relative told us, “The staff really understand [family members needs], they know their moods well.” Another relative said, “I feel [family member] is treated well and take the time to listen to them.” Processes and systems were in place to ensure people’s care plans were person centred. Staff understood the term person centred care and were able to give us examples of people’s individual needs and preferences. A staff member said, “[Person] likes to listen to music, so we do not disturb them as they love their music.”

People were not always supported to have choice and control over their own care and to make decisions about their care, treatment and wellbeing. Whilst people were supported to engage in activities others were not or chose not to take part. There was an activity board on display, however staff said people did not always want to take part. When we asked staff if people had been involved in deciding what activities they would like to take part in, they told us they were not. During the assessment we observed some people either colouring or completing puzzles, however there were others who were just sat watching television. There was mixed feedback from people and relatives about the engagement in activities. A person told us, “I do activities but I like cooking but they are not doing that here, I like putting my white apron on.” A relative told us, “[Family member] loves doing puzzles and listening to music. They love it there.” Another relative added, “Activities are limited, [family member] loves music. Things like music has decreased.” Staff told us they tried their best to deliver activities but their time was limited. A staff member told us, “I think some of the activities on the board are not suitable for people but some people do go out in the community.” Another staff member said, “We have a range of activities, we offer films, magazines, carers are assigned to activities.” Following the assessment the registered manager told us they had reviewed activity provision and an additional member of staff was overseeing this at the service.

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. Relatives told us they were kept up to date and informed about any concerns their family member experienced. A relative told us, “[Person] had a fall recently, they contacted the paramedic straight away and then let me know. They take any pictures of any injuries.” During the assessment staff responded to any calls for help from people. Processes were in place to respond to emergencies or incidents promptly.

The provider had processes in place to support the wellbeing of staff. However, not all staff confirmed that supervision was taking place. The records we looked at did not provide assurances that supervision was a two-way process, records consisted of a task sheet signed by staff. Whilst most staff told us they felt supported they were not always sure of the processes in place available for their support. A staff member told us, “We do talk about our work. Any concerns we report to the manager who does listen to us.” Another staff member said, “There are times when the support is lacking and a lack of appreciation.” A third staff member said, “We do have supervisions monthly with the manager. I do feel supported, we all work closely together here. There is always someone to talk with.” Staff told us they had opportunities to undertake further training as part of their development and several staff were completing diplomas.”