Church Farm at Rusticus

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

People were supported by kind and compassionate staff. People commented that staff could appear rushed, but they felt safe and well supported. We observed positive interactions between people and staff who encouraged and promoted people’s dignity and privacy. Staff stated they received a comprehensive training package from the provider and their needs were regularly discussed at team meetings.

This service scored 70 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We received mix feedback from people and relatives about how they were treated by staff. Relatives told us that staff acted with kindness and compassion and took time to support and understand their loved one. Some people living at the home felt that staff were rushed and did not have time for them or their care needs. One person said, “Staff never chat to me, they are always too busy. I would love them to just sit for 5 minutes and talk.” Another person said, “I don’t get a shower as often as I would like. I ask and staff say yes but they just never come back.”

Staff told us that management encouraged them to spend time socialising with people and building trusting relationships. One staff member said, “It can be really busy at times, like first thing in a morning when everyone is getting up but as soon as everyone is settled, we are encouraged to spend time with people, it’s the best part of my role.”

We contacted professionals who worked with the service for feedback. The local authority had identified where people had been supported by the dementia outreach team however, their recommendations were not always documented in care plans. This meant some people living with dementia were at risk of not receiving their care in line with their needs and staff were not supported to offered appropriate consistent care.

We observed staff interacting with people in a warm and friendly manner. We saw staff sat with people discussing topics and playing games. When staff supported people with personal care, we observed them respecting people’s privacy and dignity by closing bedroom doors and holding personal conversation without the risk of being overheard.

We did not look at Treating people as individuals during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

People and their relatives told us staff supported them to remain as independent as possible and provided them with choice. One person said, “I decide when I’m ready for bed or getting up. I like to sit in the lounge mostly so I can see the TV but they always ask if I need anything and they will make me a drink whenever I need.”

We spoke with a staff member who was employed as a ‘dementia friend’. This is a staff member who had received additional training to understand and support people with their care who are living with dementia. The staff member said, “Choice and control is so important for people and helping them to attain this even for little things gives people independence and quality of life.”

We observed staff offering choice to people in their preferred methods. For example, one person who was living with dementia was offered fruit and staff brought the fruit to the person to show them and assist them in making a choice.

Most care plans contained guidance on how to support people to remain independent. For example, one person’s care plan detailed how they liked to take daily walks outside and how staff should support them to do this. However, there were inconsistencies in how staff recorded these activities in daily notes, and it was not always clear on if or when these activities had been undertaken. We also reviewed care plans that failed to identify risk as discussed under the effective key question in relation to falls. The registered manager took immediate steps to address with staff the need for accurate record keeping ensuring they were able to demonstrate how people’s needs were being met.

Most people told us their needs were usually met by staff, but some people described having to wait for staff to support them. One person said, “I have a call bell and it can take staff 10 minutes to respond, I ask for what I need and can wait anywhere up to hour for them to help, they just always seem so busy.” However, we reviewed the call bell response time from the provider in house system which show effective response time to call bells.”

Staff told us they felt they were able to respond to people’s needs effectively. Staff described how they consistently worked with the same people, so this helped them to understand people’s needs and identify any changes in their health or needs early. One staff member said, “The management try and keep us in the same areas, so people get to know us, this helps those with dementia too. If we ever get to busy we can ask the manager to support us.”

During the assessment the home environment appeared calm and relaxed. We observed staff responding to call bells in a timely and effective manner. We observed management actively monitoring and supporting in communal areas where needed to ensure people’s needs were responded to. We observed staff responding to people’s personal care needs appropriately and without delay. For example, one person in a communal lounge requested support with toileting and staff responded immediately.

Staff told us there had been improvements in workforce wellbeing and enablement and felt things were now more consistent since the registered manager had started. Staff told us training was seen as a priority and they were able to ask for any additional training and support they needed. One staff member commented, “Now I have the support and all the training I need helps me feel valued and part of a team.” Staff stated they knew how to make a complaint or raise concerns. One staff member said, “Previously our concerns were never acted on or responded to, this changed when the registered manager started and things are a lot better.”

Staffing levels were consistent and safe. The management team used a staff dependency tool which now accurately reflected people’s needs and the level of support they needed from staff. We saw evidence of regular team meetings and supervisions where staff were able to give and receive feedback. The management team acknowledged that workforce wellbeing enablement was an ongoing developmental area and had an action plan to ensure the culture of the home developed effectively, positively, and that was driven by feedback from people and staff.