Huguenot Place

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

This was the first assessment of this registered service under a new provider and therefore we assessed all 6 quality statements from this key question. Based on the findings of this assessment, our rating for this key question is good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care. People were supported to have choice and control and made decisions about how their support was provided. They were encouraged and supported by staff to do as much as they could for themselves to maintain their independence. People were supported to understand their rights and how the service would make sure these were respected.

This service scored 80 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People spoke in positive terms about the staff and the kindness and compassion they demonstrated. Comments included, “I feel safe, staff are nice and friendly” and “I’m happy living here, staff treat me well.” People looked at ease and comfortable in the presence of staff. Staff communicated with people using BSL and were always careful in involving them in conversations even with others.

Staff demonstrated empathy when speaking about people which they did so in a respectful and positive way. Training records showed staff received training in dignity and respect.

We did not receive any feedback from external health and social care professionals, however records seen indicate there were no concerns in this area.

We saw people being treated with kindness and dignity.

People told us staff treated them as individuals and were familiar with their preferences and daily routines. Comments included, “I go to the Church.”

Staff understood the importance of treating people as individuals with their own specific needs and wishes. For example, they knew the type of activities that different people enjoyed and also their preferences in relation to eating and drinking and dressing. A staff said, “All of our residents have different backgrounds and likes, [Person] eats Halal food, we respect their cultural and religious needs.”

We observed staff supporting people in line with their individual needs and wishes. The registered manager carried out observational supervision on staff around promoting equality & diversity and dignity & respect.

People’s care plans were up to date, personalised and contained information about their individual needs and preferences.

People told us they lived independent lives and had control over how they lived their lives. They said staff supported them to maintain family and friendship circles, “Family do come and visit here.” People said staff supported them to maintain their independence and do as much for themselves as they were able to do so safely. We also saw staff supported people to maintain their independent living skills. People had keys to the home and were able to come and go as they pleased. There were no restrictions in place for people with regards to access to the home, however staff encouraged people to inform them where they were going with their consent. A person told us, “I like going out for a walk, I go out on my own”, “I can get the bus.” Another person spoke about the ‘deaf club’ they attended once a month where they went on trips, met at the park and made friends with people.

The managers and staff understood people they supported should be able to make informed choices about how they lived their lives and decide what care staff provided them. Staff gave us numerous examples of how they encouraged people’s independence. The registered manger gave an example where a person was in the habit of buying over the counter medicines. Instead of restricting this and taking away their independence, the staff encouraged positive risk taking by holding a workshop with the person. This helped the person to understand the dangers associated with this. As a result the person was able to manage their homely remedies in a safe way. The registered manager actively encouraged people to lead independent lives and tried to foster a culture within the team to enable this. For example, arranging a ‘deaf night’ at a local pub, attending a deaf café and deaf club. Some people also attended a local college where they learnt new skills. A staff said, “[Person] went to watch the football match last night at the pub, we make sure he has money and the staff in the pub are aware he’s deaf and he lives here.”

We observed people entering and leaving their home of their own accord, going out into the community and informing staff before doing so. A person went out to get a haircut and was excited to tell staff about it when they returned home. The provider ran a number of workshops, working with people to help them to understand certain topics. This included a workshop around healthy eating.

Care and support records contained information about people’s support needs and their level of independence. The providers recruitment processes considered people’s choices. For example, interview questions were devised by the people using the service and they were involved in interviewing people. This meant their voices were heard and encouraged. The provider had also developed ‘matching staff profiles’ that were specific to each person using the service to be considered when recruiting staff. This included the type of person/skills needed for new staff including interest and personality characteristics. For example, a person was passionate about football and travelling and these characteristics were considered when recruiting staff so positive relationships were encouraged. Easy read documents were produced for people to aid their understanding in topics such as breast awareness, this helped them to remain independent. People also had voting passports to help them engage in the political process. A voting passport is for people with disabilities and those with support needs who may require help at the polling station.

People told us staff helped them access external health care services and support when they needed it including any immediate needs.

Staff demonstrated a good awareness of people’s health and medical needs and how they would respond to these to prevent them from becoming unwell.

People were supported to stay healthy and well. Care plans detailed people’s health care needs and conditions, and the action staff needed to take to keep them fit and well.

Staff told us the managers fostered a positive work environment and looked out for their wellbeing.

Team and individual meetings were used to discuss how staff were feeling at work and if there was anything the provider or manager could do to support them further.