Ermington 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

We received mixed feedback from people about their experience of care at Ermington House. Whilst we did see some kind and caring interactions from staff to people living at the service, we also saw, and people told us, that people were not always cared for in a dignified way or treated with kindness and respect. People were not always supported to make decisions about their care. Staff did not always communicate with people, ask their permission to give care or explain what they were doing. For example, we observed staff doing tasks to people such as, putting clothes protectors on them at lunch time and moving people in a hoist, without gaining their permission or explaining to them what they were doing. Staff told us they enjoyed their job, knew people well and how to support them. Staff described how they supported people to remain independent and told us they gave people choices. People's care plans had current information to promote their independence in areas such as mobility, communication and participating in activities both in the home and in the local community.

This service scored 60 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Some people described instances where they were not always being treated with kindness, dignity and respect. Some people told us staff were ‘bossy’, were rude to them and often spoke to each other in their own language. Comments include, “The staff are bossy, they are not nice”, “I feel terribly lonely and isolated”, “Some are just rude and frighten me. I feel very lonely and sad” and “The staff talk in their own language. I told them that it was the rudest thing that they could do in front of us. They just shrugged their shoulders.” The failure to treat people with dignity and respect is a breach of regulations. However, some people told us staff were nice, “The staff are nice, they knock on doors. My family are happy with my care”, “They are all so nice, very polite and explain things. I’m very, very, happy here” and “They are definitely respectful to me.”

Staff told us they enjoyed their job, cared for the people living at the service and thought they were doing a good job. Staff appeared to know people well and how to support them. Comments from staff included, “We always ask people what they want, ask them about their privacy and their needs and we talk kindly to them and always ask”, “I am happy and love the residents and they appreciate the work we are doing and you see the satisfaction we are giving them” and “A lot of the residents get on with the staff and the staff team do pull together and in general we all support each other.”

Whilst we did see some kind and caring interactions from staff with people living at the service, our assessment found elements of care, including people’s feedback, did not meet the expected standards.

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.

We received mixed feedback from people and relatives about whether they felt involved in decisions about their care. Whilst some people told us they had not been asked about or involved in their care planning, other people did feel involved and told us staff explained things to them. Where appropriate, people were supported to remain independent. One person told us, “I’m quite happy here. The staff are helpful. You can be independent.” People were supported to receive visitors when they wanted.

Staff told us they knew people well and how to care for them. One staff member told us, “I think a lot of the staff now know the residents quite well, so we know what they like and don’t like and know their preferences.” Staff told us about promoting people’s independence. One said, “A few people are independent and so they mostly do their personal care themselves, so we always go and check with them they have done it, and they are happy and some like to stay in their rooms.” Staff described how they supported one person to remain independent by encouraging them to help out cleaning the dining room.

We observed people were not always supported to make decisions about their care. Staff did not always communicate with people, ask their permission before giving care or explain what they were doing. For example, we observed staff doing tasks to people such as, putting clothes protectors on them at lunch time or moving people in a hoist, without gaining their permission or explaining what they were doing. The failure to support people to make decisions about their care and treat people with respect and dignity is a breach of regulations.

People’s care plans contained information to promote their independence in areas such as mobility, communication and participating in activities both in the home and in the local community. However, it was not clear from people’s feedback or care records that people had been involved in or asked about their care planning. Equipment was available to support and maximise people’s independence and outcomes from care and treatment. For example, walking frames, wheelchairs, and hoists.

We did not look at Responding to people’s immediate needs during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Workforce wellbeing and enablement during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.